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• bolt
  bolt

  noun

  a movable bar or rod that when slid into a socket fastens a door, gate, etc.
• Bolt
  Bolt

  noun

  Robert ( Oxton ). 1924–95, British playwright. His plays include A Man for All Seasons (1960) and he also wrote a number of screenplays

bolt

¹ American  

[bohlt] / boʊlt /

noun

• bolts
  plural

1. a movable bar or rod that when slid into a socket fastens a door, gate, etc.

2. the part of a lock that is shot from and drawn back into the case, as by the action of the key.

3. any of several types of strong fastening rods, pins, or screws, usually threaded to receive a nut.

4. a sudden dash, run, flight, or escape.

5. a sudden desertion from a meeting, political party, social movement, etc.

6. a length of woven goods, especially as it comes on a roll from the loom.

7. a roll of wallpaper.

8. Bookbinding. the three edges of a folded sheet that must be cut so that the leaves can be opened.

9. a rod, bar, or plate that closes the breech of a breechloading rifle, especially a sliding rod or bar that shoves a cartridge into the firing chamber as it closes the breech.

10. a jet of water, molten glass, etc.

11. an arrow, especially a short, heavy one for a crossbow.

12. a shaft of lightning; thunderbolt.

13. a length of timber to be cut into smaller pieces.

14. a slice from a log, as a short, round piece of wood used for a chopping block.

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verb (used with object)

1. to fasten with or as with a bolt.

2. to discontinue support of or participation in; break with.

   to bolt a political party.

3. to shoot or discharge (a missile), as from a crossbow or catapult.

4. to utter hastily; say impulsively; blurt out.

5. to swallow (one's food or drink) hurriedly.

   She bolted her breakfast and ran to school.

6. to make (cloth, wallpaper, etc.) into bolts.

7. Fox Hunting. (of hounds) to force (a fox) into the open.

verb (used without object)

1. to make a sudden, swift dash, run, flight, or escape; spring away suddenly.

   The rabbit bolted into its burrow.

   Synonyms:

   bound, flee, scoot, speed, fly, run, rush, dash

2. to break away, as from one's political party.

3. to eat hurriedly or without chewing.

4. Horticulture. to produce flowers or seeds prematurely.

adverb

1. Archaic. with sudden meeting or collision; suddenly.

idioms

1. bolt upright, stiffly upright; rigidly straight.

   The explosive sound caused him to sit bolt upright in his chair.

2. bolt from the blue, a sudden and entirely unforeseen event: Also bolt out of the blue.

   His decision to leave college was a bolt from the blue for his parents.

3. shoot one's bolt, to make an exhaustive effort or expenditure.

   The lawyer shot his bolt the first day of the trial and had little to say thereafter.

bolt ² American  

[bohlt] / boʊlt /

verb (used with object)

1. to sift through a cloth or sieve.

2. to examine or search into, as if by sifting.

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bolt ¹ British  

/ bəʊlt /

noun

1. a bar that can be slid into a socket to lock a door, gate, etc

2. a bar or rod that forms part of a locking mechanism and is moved by a key or a knob

3. a metal rod or pin that has a head at one end and a screw thread at the other to take a nut

4. a sliding bar in a breech-loading firearm that ejects the empty cartridge, replaces it with a new one, and closes the breech

5. a flash of lightning

6. a sudden start or movement, esp in order to escape

   they made a bolt for the door

7. a sudden desertion, esp from a political party

8. a roll of something, such as cloth, wallpaper, etc

9. an arrow, esp for a crossbow

10. printing a folded edge on a sheet of paper that is removed when cutting to size

11. mechanical engineering short for expansion bolt

12. a sudden, unexpected, and usually unwelcome event

13. to exhaust one's effort

    the runner had shot his bolt

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verb

1. (tr) to secure or lock with or as with a bolt or bolts

   bolt your doors

2. (tr) to eat hurriedly

   don't bolt your food

3. (intr; usually foll by from or out) to move or jump suddenly

   he bolted from the chair

4. (intr) (esp of a horse) to start hurriedly and run away without warning

5. (tr) to roll or make (cloth, wallpaper, etc) into bolts

6. to desert (a political party, etc)

7. (intr) (of cultivated plants) to produce flowers and seeds prematurely

8. (tr) to cause (a wild animal) to leave its lair; start

   terriers were used for bolting rats

adverb

1. stiffly, firmly, or rigidly (archaic except in the phrase bolt upright )

Bolt ² British  

/ bəʊlt /

noun

1. Robert ( Oxton ). 1924–95, British playwright. His plays include A Man for All Seasons (1960) and he also wrote a number of screenplays

2. Usain (juːˈseɪn). born 1986, Jamaican athlete: winner of the 100 metres and the 200 metres in the 2008 Olympic Games, setting world records at both distances

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bolt ³ British  

/ bəʊlt /

verb

1. to pass (flour, a powder, etc) through a sieve

2. to examine and separate

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bolt More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bolt

• nuts and bolts
• shoot one's bolt

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bolter
  noun
• boltless
  adjective
• boltlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bolts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bolt¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun bolt, bold, bote “(crossbow) bolt, (lightning) bolt, (door) bolt, (cloth) bolt,” Old English bolt “arrow, (crossbow) bolt, catapult”; cognate with Dutch bout, German Bolz

Origin of bolt²

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English bulten, bolten, bouten, from Old French bul(e)ter, variant of unrecorded buteler, from Germanic; compare Middle High German biuteln “to sift,” derivative of biutel, Old High German būtil “bag,” whence German Beutel

Explanation

We love words that sound like what they mean, and bolt is no exception. It's a quick, sharp word that either means to move quickly or refers to a stroke of lightning, as in "lightning bolt." The god Zeus was fond of tossing bolts of lightning down upon mortals who angered him. If you were one of those mortals, you'd have been smart to bolt inside as soon as the rain began. To bolt is to run as quickly as you can. Racehorses are often described as bolting out of the gate. Other uses of bolt include the lock in your door, the act of locking that lock, and what a dog does when it gulps down his food.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bolt Bolt bolts

“We’d have these jackets with a big Chargers lightning bolt, the dark-blue stuff before the baby-blue stuff was en vogue.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Fireworks are also traumatizing for pets, particularly dogs, which tremble and even bolt from their homes in fear.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

Whether the form has legs, wheels or a tower, it still needs actuators, sensors, edge compute, safety systems and someone to bolt it into a line.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

Brazil's Vinicius Jr fires home a "lightning bolt" of a strike to level up the scores in against Morocco in their Group C match in the 2026 World Cup.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

A big bolt of lightning zoomed down from the sky, hissing like a mad snake.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

The three countries have a growing number of startups recognised worldwide, such as online reselling platform Vinted, rideshare service Bolt and videotelephony pioneer Skype.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

The Bolt is set to be discontinued next year, and Nissan has pulled its cheapest Leaf variant from the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

Most other comparably priced EVs in the U.S. are closer to $30,000, including the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt, which Car and Driver named its most affordable EV.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

Law firm Bolt Burdon Kemp, who represented Laura, says it has more than 28 ongoing claims against British Gymnastics.

From BBC ● May 21, 2026

Then I had to add, "That you just got on a fancy suit, trying to front like you Usain Bolt."

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds

I wasn’t able to get downtown so I would go to Home Depot and buy rings and bolts and I would just put them on the clothes and build things around it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The small nocturnal arachnid has been nicknamed the ballista spider after the ancient Roman siege weapon that launched bolts and stones using stored tension.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

Garner claimed Toretto, who he had previously described as "missing a few nuts and bolts", had been put in a small shed on the patio, which he secured with a padlock.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

As well as using new technology, Cambridge has turned to more simple efficiencies: Its missiles use just two types of bolts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026

She came out from behind the register and led me to the fabric bolts, stacks of solids mixed with prints, cottons with satins, and linen with corduroys.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Related Words

• bound
• dart
• dash
• drop out
• dump
• escape
• flee
• jump
• leap
• rush
• scamper
• scoot
• skip
• sprint
• take off