as a verb, it is a term similar to sodomise, which generally means to commit a sexual act that is not vaginal intercourse between a man and a woman, most often when referring to anal sex.

As such, it became used as a noun to refer to people who committed buggery (much like an equivalent to sodomite), but in more recent times, has become – particularly in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand – a general swear word, often used casually and in a variety of ways, much like the word ‘fuck’, or the equivalent ‘sod’, – e.g. “bugger that”, “you cheeky bugger”, “the radio is buggered”, etc.