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boot

nounverbnounverbnounverbnouncommon in dialogue

  • United Kingdom//buːt//
  • United Kingdom//bʉwt//
  • United States//but//
  • Australia//bʉːt//

A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg.

noun

  1. 1

    A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg.

  2. 2

    A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg. A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football (historically in the form of boots, now shorter, but still called the same).

  3. 3

    A blow with the foot; a kick.

  4. 4

    A flexible cover of rubber or plastic, which may be preformed to a particular shape and used to protect a shaft, lever, switch, or opening from dust, dirt, moisture, etc.

  5. 5

    figurativeOppression, an oppressor.

    Dr. Jayakar was not only one of them but was at places the prime mover in the historic decisions taken by a nation struggling to get free of the British boot.

    Never in its long history, and one rich with brutal inequities too, had Paris known the disgrace of seeing one section of its community prosper under the boot of an invader

    Chronic unrest in Ireland, long under the British boot, was about to culminate in a popular rising.

  6. 6

    A torture device used on the feet or legs, such as a Spanish boot.

    The boot, thumbscrews, the shackles, and a contraption called the "warm hose", were only a few of the inflictions being too terrible to mention.

  7. 7

    A parking enforcement device used to immobilize a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.

  8. 8

    A rubber bladder on the leading edge of an aircraft’s wing, which is inflated periodically to remove ice buildup; a deicing boot.

  9. 9

    obsoleteA place at the side of a coach, where attendants rode; also, a low outside place before and behind the body of the coach.

    [T]he young man helped the young lady, half-swooning, inside, and Egbert, Murial Jane and Silvander Dan climbed on to the boot which was a handsome high-seat at the back.

  10. 10

    archaicA place for baggage at either end of an old-fashioned stagecoach.

  11. 11

    The luggage storage compartment of a sedan or saloon car.

    He heaved the bag and its contents over the lip of the boot and on to the flagstones. When it was out, no longer in that boot but on the ground, and the bag was still intact, he knew the worst was over.

    The body is constructed of welded steel panels, with the bonnet, doors and boot lid in aluminium on steel frames.

    Peers leant against the outside of the car a lit up her filter tip and watched as Bauer and Putin placed their compact suitcases in the boot of the BMW and slammed the boot lid down.

  12. 12

    informalThe act or process of removing or firing someone (dismissing them from a job or other post).

    He was useless so he got the boot.

  13. 13

    slangAn unattractive person, ugly woman.

    old boot

  14. 14

    slangA recently arrived recruit; a rookie.

    Did you even go to OCS, you complete and utter boot!?

  15. 15

    A soldier, especially a footsoldier.

    We do not anticipate there will be US boots on the ground to help quell the violence.

  16. 16

    slangA black person.

    My Dad has taught me that in England some foolish man may call me sambo, darkie, boot or munt or nigger, even.

  17. 17

    A hard or rigid case for a long firearm, typically moulded to the shape of the gun.

    They drew in their horses and dismounted. The others riding ahead were already out of sight in the darkness. Beyond them shone the lights of Bou Saada. Tarzan removed his rifle from its boot and loosened his revolver in its holster.

  18. 18

    A bobbled ball.

  19. 19

    The inflated flag leaf sheath of a wheat plant.

  20. 20

    slangA linear amplifier used with CB radio.

    Because of overcrowding, many a CB enthusiast (called an "apple") is strapping an illegal linear amplifier ("boots") on to his transceiver ("ears") […]

  21. 21

    slangA tyre.

  22. 22

    A crust end-piece of a loaf of bread.

Etymology

From Middle English boote, bote (“shoe”), from Old French bote (“a high, thick shoe”). Of obscure origin, but probably related to Old French bot (“club-foot”), bot (“fat, short, blunt”), from Old Frankish *butt, from Proto-Germanic *buttaz, *butaz (“cut off, short, numb, blunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewt-, *bʰewd- (“to strike, push, shock”); if so, a doublet of butt. Compare Old Norse butt (“stump”), Low German butt (“blunt, plump”), Old English bytt (“small piece of land”), buttuc (“end”). More at buttock and debut.

verb

  1. 1

    To kick.

    I booted the ball toward my teammate.

    You nearly booted me in the face!

  2. 2

    To put boots on, especially for riding.

    Coated and booted for it.

  3. 3

    To step on the accelerator of a vehicle for faster acceleration than usual or to drive faster than usual.

    The storm is coming fast! Boot it!

    We had to boot it all the way there to get to our flight on time.

  4. 4

    informalTo eject; kick out.

    We need to boot those troublemakers as soon as possible.

    The senator was booted from the committee for unethical behavior.

  5. 5

    informalTo disconnect forcibly; to eject from an online service, conversation, etc.

    As an IRC member with operator status, Swallow was able to manage who was allowed to remain in chat sessions and who got booted off the channel.

    Even flagrant violators of the TOS are not booted.

    In Electroserver, the kick command disconnects a user totally from the server and gives him a message about why he was booted.

  6. 6

    slangTo vomit.

    Sorry, I didn’t mean to boot all over your couch.

  7. 7

    slangTo shoot, to kill by gunfire.

    C4 run man through the alley Get a man down with the swammy Get a man down with the whammy Boot couple niggas on the road No face no case with the bally (booting)

noun

  1. 1

    archaicRemedy, amends.

    Thou art boot for many a bruise / And healest many a wound.

    next her Son, our soul's best boot

  2. 2

    Profit, plunder.

  3. 3

    That which is given to make an exchange equal, or to make up for the deficiency of value in one of the things exchanged; compensation; recompense.

    I'll give you boot, I'll give you three for one.

    If mortgaged property is transferred, the amount of the mortgage is part of the boot. If both parties to the transaction transfer mortgages to each other, the party giving up the larger debt treats the excess as taxable boot.

    If the target retains the boot and uses it for, say, paying its debt, there is taxation on the boot.

  4. 4

    obsoleteProfit; gain; advantage; use.

    Then talk no more of flight, it is no boot.

  5. 5

    obsoleteRepair work; the act of fixing structures or buildings.

  6. 6

    obsoleteA medicinal cure or remedy.

Etymology

From Middle English boote, bote, bot, from Old English bōt (“help, relief, advantage”), from Proto-West Germanic *bōtu, from Proto-Germanic *bōtō (“atonement, improvement”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed- (“good”). Akin to Old Norse bót (“bettering, remedy”) (Danish bod), Gothic 𐌱𐍉𐍄𐌰 (bōta), German Buße. Doublet of bote (a borrowing from Middle English).

verb

  1. 1

    archaicTo be beneficial, to help.

    It boots thee not to be compaſsionate, / After our ſentence, plaining comes too late.

    It bootes me not to threat, I must ſpeake faire, / The legate of the Pope will be obeyd: […]

    1678 Richard Hooker, “A Sermon found in the study of Bishop Andrews” in Izaak Walton, The Life of Dr. Sanderson, late Bishop of Lincoln, London: Richard Marriot, p. 262, What booteth it to others that we wish them well, and do nothing for them?

    What could be wanting in my father but to have wrote a book to publiſh this notion of his to the world? Little boots it to the ſubtle ſpeculatiſt to ſtand ſingle in his opinions,—unleſs he gives them proper proper vent: […]

  2. 2

    archaicTo matter; to be relevant.

    I will go and offer myſelf to this divorce—it boots not what becomes of me.

    [W]hat subdued / To change like this, a mind so far imbued / With scorn of man, it little boots to know; [...]

    What boots whether it be Westminster or a little country spire which covers your ashes, or if, a few days sooner or later, the world forgets you?

  3. 3

    archaicTo enrich.

    And I will boot thee with what guift beſide / Thy modeſtie can begge.

noun

  1. 1

    archaicThe act or process of bootstrapping; the starting or re-starting of a computing device.

    It took three boots, but I finally got the application installed.

Etymology

Clipping of bootstrap.

verb

  1. 1

    archaicTo bootstrap; to start a system, e.g. a computer, by invoking its boot process or bootstrap.

    When arriving at the office, the first thing I do is boot my machine.

noun

  1. 1

    archaicA bootleg recording.

    I am looking to trade Iron Maiden boots. I have many Iron Maiden bootlegs. I have lots of Metallica. I trade CDR's, tapes and videos.

Etymology

From bootleg (“to make or sell illegally”), by shortening.

Forms

plural
boots
past tense
booted
past participle
booted
present participle
booting
third person singular
boots
The neighbouring pagesAlphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.

Lexical content from Wiktionary, under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source entry · Data version 2026-08-23

Rank among the words of the OpenSubtitles 2018 corpus — film and television subtitles, so spoken rather than written usage (CC BY-SA 3.0).