to combine in abstaining from, or preventing dealings with, as a means of intimidation or coercion.
to boycott a store.
to abstain from buying or using.
to boycott foreign products.
the practice of boycotting.
an instance of boycotting.
After Charles C. Boycott (1832–97), English estate manager in Ireland, against whom nonviolent coercive tactics were used in 1880
To boycott means to stop buying or using the goods or services of a certain company or country as a protest; the noun boycott is the protest itself. This noun comes from the name of Charles C. Boycott, an English land agent in 19th-century Ireland who refused to reduce rents for his tenant farmers. As a result, the local residents did not want to have any dealings with him. Boycotts are an effective way to use your spending dollars to effect change.
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“Protesters gathered outside the event to raise awareness about the Boycott ‘Scream 7’ campaign and urge audiences to refrain from supporting the film.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026
According to Belafonte, they arranged a meeting in the basement of Abyssinian Baptist Church, where King told him he was almost out of money to fund the Montgomery Bus Boycott and asked for help.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026
Captain Ben Stokes denied Wednesday that England were undercooked for the Ashes series against Australia after a chorus of criticism led by legends Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott.
From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025
Boycott said Bird was "loved by so many and became a legend".
From BBC • Sep. 23, 2025
It stood at the end of Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, across the street from the historic Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had pastored during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
