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Synonyms

bolt upright

Idioms  

  1. Precisely perpendicular, erect in carriage, as in She sat bolt upright in her pew. This expression was used in slightly different form by Chaucer in the late 1300s: “She was ... long as a mast and upright as a bolt” (The Miller's Tale).

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.

In fact, trying to hold yourself bolt upright all day could do more harm than good, he told Morning Live.

From BBC • Aug. 25, 2025

I sat bolt upright, moving my lips with nothing coming out.

From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2022

Typically bolt upright in her chair and staring straight ahead, Holmes has remained impassive as even one-time supporters testified to their misgivings about her actions while leading Theranos.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 19, 2021

The PlayStation 2 played with similar emotions at the turn of the millennium, sitting bolt upright like the Monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

From The Verge • Dec. 5, 2019

Then all at once, Mr. Larson got an idea, and he sat bolt upright in his chair.

From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements

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.