a soldier who does not meet the minimum standards of marksmanship.
a clumsy or incompetent soldier.
First recorded in 1900–05; from Philippine Spanish; further origin uncertain
First recorded in 1915–20; said to be after Bolo Pascha (died 1918), German agent in France during World War I
First recorded in 1975–80
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cowboy Bob, who is about 20 feet tall, plays guitar and wears a bolo tie, is one of several oversize fiberglass mascots along 11th Street in the Meadow Gold District of Tulsa.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Perhaps the most confounding person on the list is Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Coloradan who, according to the Times, would wear bolo ties and “roar… around town on a highly accessorized Harley-Davidson.”
From Slate ● Dec. 9, 2022
"More than anything my TikTok is a work tool," said Novoa, who also sells bolo through his channel.
From Reuters ● Nov. 12, 2022
Ms. Peltola appeared to be wearing a beaded bolo tie that belonged to Mr. Young, after his daughter gave it to her during the recent Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage.
From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2022
He was wearing black jeans, a nice pressed shirt with a bejeweled bolo tie, and a cowboy hat.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
That’s 25 seasons, or over a thousand episodes that told us to always BOLO, or be on the lookout.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2023
The man reportedly fit the description of a "BOLO," which means "be on the lookout" for an individual who authorities believe might have a weapon.
From Fox News ● Nov. 4, 2021
There was a false Pasha named BOLO, Who sank in iniquity so low.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 17, 1917 by Various
Campbell wore his hair in a salt-and-pepper ponytail; fashioned traditional, Native American jewelry on the side; and eschewed neckties, de rigueur for Senate attire, in favor of bolos when appearing on the floor.
From Fox News ● Jul. 8, 2020
He wore bolos and flannel shirts and polyester pants.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 30, 2018
And I did recently rip into my own grandmother for buying Thomas' English Muffins when she has a local bakery nearby making artisan Portuguese bolos — which everyone knows is better!
From Chicago Tribune ● Dec. 27, 2010
The General went at once himself where the germs were thickest, the bolos sharpest.
From Time Magazine Archive
Most of the men were ahead of the team with their bolos, cutting down and dragging away the trees and bushes, and thus forming a trail which would allow the wagons to pass.
From The Wonder Island Boys: Conquest of the Savages by Finlay, Roger Thompson
You've been boloed on outpost and gone to heaven, and you don't know it.'
From Sonnie-Boy's People by Connolly, James B. (James Brendan)
"I'd rather be boloed than tell you," he said.
From The Tracer of Lost Persons by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
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.
