booty
1 Americannoun
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booties,
plural
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bootys
plural
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Slang. the buttocks.
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Slang: Vulgar.
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the vulva or vagina.
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sexual intercourse.
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women regarded as sex objects.
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idioms
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing booty
Words Every Pirate Should Know
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 9
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Important works of art from Bohemian lands were destroyed by iconoclasts during the Hussite Wars of the 15th century, and much was taken as booty during the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
Watching Will Ferrell in prison booty shorts showing off his pasty white legs feels like a crazy way to soothe the Sunday scaries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2025
Archaeologists believe the swords were hidden by Judean rebels after they were seized from the Roman army as booty.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2023
Assyrian ivory carving of a man leading an antelope by the horns, as booty to enrich a treasury.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
“It’s going to work out. Annabeth is going to kick some serious booty, too. You’ll see.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
He had no shoes, only the orange booties given to him at a detention center.
From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2026
I let myself in and slipped blue cotton booties over my shoes.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2025
Protective booties may help a pet feel more comfortable on walks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2024
Pet owners outfit their furry friends in booties to keep their paws from getting singed.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2023
Or the ten heroes in full battle armor who were getting their bronze-plated booties whooped.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
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.
