Try Our Apps
Dictionary.com

follow Dictionary.com

90s Slang You Should Know

boot1

[boot] /but/
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
1.
a covering of leather, rubber, or the like, for the foot and all or part of the leg.
2.
Chiefly British. any shoe or outer foot covering reaching to the ankle.
3.
an overshoe, especially one of rubber or other waterproof material.
4.
an instrument of torture for the leg, consisting of a kind of vise extending from the knee to the ankle, tightened around the leg by means of screws.
5.
any sheathlike protective covering:
a boot for a weak automobile tire.
6.
a protective covering for the foot and part of the leg of a horse.
7.
a protecting cover or apron for the driver's seat of an open vehicle.
8.
the receptacle or place into which the top of a convertible car fits when lowered.
9.
a cloth covering for this receptacle or place.
10.
British. the trunk of an automobile.
11.
a rubber covering for the connection between each spark-plug terminal and ignition cable in an automotive ignition system.
12.
Also called Denver boot. a metal device attached to the wheel of a parked car so that it cannot be driven away until a fine is paid or the owner reports to the police: used by police to catch scofflaws.
13.
U.S. Navy, Marines. a recruit.
14.
Music. the box that holds the reed in the reed pipe of an organ.
15.
a kick.
16.
Slang. a dismissal; discharge:
They gave him the boot for coming in late.
17.
Informal. a sensation of pleasure or amusement:
Watching that young skater win a gold medal gave me a real boot.
18.
Baseball. a fumble of a ball batted on the ground, usually to the infield.
19.
Computers. an act or instance of starting up a computer or program.
verb (used with object)
20.
to kick; drive by kicking:
The boy booted a tin can down the street.
21.
Football. to kick.
22.
Baseball. to fumble (a ground ball).
23.
to put boots on; equip or provide with boots.
24.
Computers.
  1. to start (a computer) by loading and initializing the operating system (often followed by up).
  2. to start (a program) by loading the first few instructions, which will then bring in the rest (often followed by up).
25.
Slang. to dismiss; discharge:
They booted him out of school for not studying.
26.
to attach a Denver boot to:
Police will boot any car with unpaid fines.
27.
to torture with the boot.
verb (used without object)
28.
Computers. to start a computer or program, or be started in this way (often followed by up):
My laptop won't boot and shows a blank screen.
Idioms
29.
bet your boots, to be sure or certain:
You can bet your boots that I'll be there!
30.
die with one's boots on,
  1. to die while actively engaged in one's work, profession, etc.
  2. to die fighting, especially in battle, or in some worthy cause.
Also, especially British, die in one's boots.
31.
get a boot, Informal. to derive keen enjoyment:
I really got a boot out of his ridiculous stories.
Origin of boot1
Middle English
Old French
1275-1325
1275-1325; Middle English bote < Anglo-French, Old French; of uncertain origin

boot2

[boot] /but/
noun
1.
Archaic. something given into the bargain.
2.
Obsolete.
  1. advantage.
  2. remedy; relief; help.
verb (used with or without object)
3.
Archaic. to be of profit, advantage, or avail (to):
It boots thee not to complain.
Idioms
4.
to boot, in addition; besides:
We received an extra week's pay to boot.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English bote, Old English bōt advantage; cognate with Dutch boete, German Busse, Old Norse bōt, Gothic bota; see bet1, better1

boot3

[boot] /but/
noun, Archaic.
1.
booty; spoil; plunder.
Origin
1585-95; special use of boot2 by association with booty1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
Cite This Source
Examples from the Web for boot
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples

  • Seizing the opportunity, he had hastily divested himself of his own boot and had added that to the page's burden.

    A Sheaf of Corn Mary E. Mann

  • He had made about ten steps when his boot stuck fast, he reeled and fell.

    The Root of Evil Thomas Dixon

  • In the street before my door a nail came loose in my boot and stuck in my foot.

    Legends August Strindberg

  • He hated to be found on the floor at the toe of Big Tom's boot.

    The Rich Little Poor Boy Eleanor Gates

  • Hycy paused for a moment, seemed thoughtful, and tapped his boot with the point of his whip as he looked at them.

    The Emigrants Of Ahadarra William Carleton
British Dictionary definitions for boot

boot1

/buːt/
noun
1.
a strong outer covering for the foot; shoe that extends above the ankle, often to the knee See also chukka boot, top boot, Wellington boots, surgical boot
2.
an enclosed compartment of a car for holding luggage, etc, usually at the rear US and Canadian name trunk
3.
a protective covering over a mechanical device, such as a rubber sheath protecting a coupling joining two shafts
4.
(US & Canadian) a rubber patch used to repair a puncture in a tyre
5.
an instrument of torture used to crush the foot and lower leg
6.
a protective covering for the lower leg of a horse
7.
a kick: he gave the door a boot
8.
(Brit, slang) an ugly person (esp in the phrase old boot)
9.
(US, slang) a navy or marine recruit, esp one in training
10.
(computing) short for bootstrap (sense 4a)
11.
bet one's boots, to be certain: you can bet your boots he'll come
12.
See boots and all
13.
die with one's boots on
  1. to die while still active
  2. to die in battle
14.
lick the boots of, to be servile, obsequious, or flattering towards
15.
(slang) put the boot in
  1. to kick a person, esp when he or she is already down
  2. to harass someone or aggravate a problem
  3. to finish off (something) with unnecessary brutality
16.
(slang) the boot, dismissal from employment; the sack
17.
the boot is on the other foot, the boot is on the other leg, the situation is or has now reversed
18.
too big for one's boots, self-important or conceited
verb
19.
(transitive) (esp in football) to kick
20.
(transitive) to equip with boots
21.
(transitive) (informal)
  1. (often foll by out) to eject forcibly
  2. to dismiss from employment
22.
Also boot up. to start up the operating system of (a computer) or (of a computer) to begin operating
See also boots
Word Origin
C14 bote, from Old French, of uncertain origin

boot2

/buːt/
verb (usually impersonal)
1.
(archaic) to be of advantage or use to (a person): what boots it to complain?
noun
2.
(obsolete) an advantage
3.
(dialect) something given in addition, esp to equalize an exchange: a ten pound boot to settle the bargain
4.
to boot, as well; in addition: it's cold and musty, and damp to boot
Word Origin
Old English bōt compensation; related to Old Norse bōt remedy, Gothic bōta, Old High German buoza improvement
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cite This Source
Word Origin and History for boot
n.

footwear, early 14c., from Old French bote "boot" (12c.), with corresponding words in Provençal and Spanish, of unknown origin, perhaps from a Germanic source. Originally for riding boots only. An old Dorsetshire word for "half-boots" was skilty-boots [Halliwell, Wright].

"profit, use," Old English bot "help, relief, advantage; atonement," literally "a making better," from Proto-Germanic *boto (see better (adj.)). Cf. German Buße "penance, atonement," Gothic botha "advantage." Now mostly in phrase to boot (Old English to bote).

v.

"to kick," 1877, American English, from boot (n.1). Generalized sense of "eject, kick out" is from 1880. Related: Booted; booting.

"start up a computer," 1975, from bootstrap (v.), a 1958 derived verb from bootstrap (n.) in the computer sense.

n.2

"profit, use," Old English bot "help, relief, advantage; atonement," literally "a making better," from Proto-Germanic *boto (see better (adj.)). Cf. German Buße "penance, atonement," Gothic botha "advantage." Now mostly in phrase to boot (Old English to bote).

v.2

"start up a computer," 1975, from bootstrap (v.), a 1958 derived verb from bootstrap (n.) in the computer sense.

v.1

"to kick," 1877, American English, from boot (n.1). Generalized sense of "eject, kick out" is from 1880. Related: Booted; booting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang definitions & phrases for boot

boot

noun

  1. : Give him a boot in the ass (1940s+)
  2. : Dark atoned for his boot by making a good play on Kiner's slow roller
  3. A thrill; surge of pleasure; bang, kick: I get a boot from boats (1930+)
  4. A recruit (1900+ Navy & Marine Corps)
  5. A black person (1950s+ Black)
  6. (also Denver boot) A metal locking device put on the wheels of a scofflaw's car to prevent driving (late 1960s+)

verb

  1. To kick, esp to give a hard kick: Let's boot a football around (1870s+)
  2. To discharge; eject; fire, sack (1880s+)
  3. (also boot away)To lose or waste by incompetence, inattention, etc; botch; bungle; blow: I booted three good chances (1950s+)
  4. To commit an error, esp in handling a ground ball (1900s+ Baseball)
  5. (also backtrack) To inject a narcotic gradually by pulling back and reinjecting blood again and again to increase the drug's effect: The technique, known as ''booting,'' is believed to prolong the drug's initial effect (1960s+ Narcotics)
  6. boot up (1980+ Computer)

Related Terms

hardboot, rubber boots, to boot

boot up

v phr,v

To start up or input a computer'soperatingsystem:Thetypicalfirststepinworking with a computer, then, is to load the DOS programs; this is called ''booting up''/ He showed me how to log in and boot the operating system

[1970s+ Computers; fr earlierbootstrap,becauseafterasimpleactionlikepressing one key, the computer loads the operating system itself, as if it were raising itself by its own bootstraps]

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Cite This Source
Idioms and Phrases with boot

boot

also see:
also see under:
shoe
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source

Word of the Day

Difficulty index for boot

Most English speakers likely know this word

Word Value for boot

6
7
Scrabble Words With Friends

Related Words

Nearby words for boot

We’ve updated our TOS and Privacy Policy. Click Here.