booty

¹ American  

[boo-tee] / ˈbu ti /

noun

booties plural

1. spoil taken from an enemy in war; plunder; pillage.

   Synonyms:

   swag, winnings, gains, loot, spoils

2. something that is seized by violence and robbery.

   Synonyms:

   swag, winnings, gains, loot, spoils

3. any prize or gain.

   Synonyms:

   swag, winnings, gains, loot, spoils

---

booty ² American  

[boo-tee] / ˈbu ti /

Also boody

noun

booties, plural bootys plural

1. Slang. the buttocks.

2. Slang: Vulgar.

   1. the vulva or vagina.

   2. sexual intercourse.

   3. women regarded as sex objects.

---

idioms

1. shake one's booty,

   1. to swing the hips and buttocks from side to side.

   2. to dance with energy and enthusiasm.

booty ¹ British  

/ ˈbuːtɪ /

noun

1. any valuable article or articles, esp when obtained as plunder

---

booty ² British  

/ ˈbuːtɪ /

noun

1. slang the buttocks

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bootyless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• booties
  plural
• bootys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of booty¹

First recorded 1425–75; late Middle English boti “profit (from plundering),” from bote, bot, bout “advantage, benefit, relief,” Old English bōt; cognate with Middle Low German bute “booty,” Old Norse bȳti “exchange, barter”; oo from boot ²

Origin of booty²

First recorded in 1925–30; origin uncertain; from African American Vernacular English, perhaps from obsolete sense “body”; akin to Jamaican English and Krio buti “buttocks”

Explanation

Booty is treasure — money, jewels, and the like — obtained by criminal means, especially plundering or pillaging. If you're in the Caribbean on vacation, you could spend some time looking for buried pirate booty. Although booty originally meant stolen goods from war or pirating activities, the term is now sometimes used more generically to mean any riches or treasure. Although you may feel as though you plundered your own bank account to buy new clothes for yourself, all the booty you brought home from the mall might make you decide that it was worth it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

booty booties

Men who train with the Whoop app have doubled their booty exercises over the past 24 months, according to the company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

The North Koreans have not only made their thievery more efficient, but have also refined their money-laundering techniques to the point that the stolen booty disappears into the dark reaches of cyberspace within days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2025

Records of just one of Thutmose III’s campaigns in Canaan note that the booty included more than two thousand horses and twenty thousand sheep, almost two thousand goats, wheat,

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

Small planes fly in and out, carrying Russian booty.

From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2022

In addition to taking slaves and booty, wartime victors in central Mexico often burned their enemies’ codices, the hand-painted picture-texts in which priests recorded their people’s histories.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

I let myself in and slipped blue cotton booties over my shoes.

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2025

Additionally, the provided booties and plastic underwear didn’t fit as well.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2024

The silver sequined open-toe booties Gordon wore alongside Pat Smear, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic at Nirvana’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were a steal and went quickly for $20.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2023

Pet owners outfit their furry friends in booties to keep their paws from getting singed.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

The solution is to wrap them: their shoes are wrapped in plastic booties, their bodies in white nylon lint-free jump suits, their hair in nylon caps, and their hands in gloves.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins

Related Words

• spoils