boost

[ boost ]
See synonyms for: boostboostedboosting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to lift or raise by pushing from behind or below.

  2. to advance or aid by speaking well of; promote: She always boosts her hometown.

  1. to increase; raise: to boost prices;to boost the horsepower of the car by 20 percent.

  2. to administer a booster shot to: Have you and your family been boosted yet?

  3. Slang. to steal, especially to shoplift: Two computers were boosted from the office last night.

verb (used without object)
  1. Slang. to engage in stealing, especially shoplifting.

noun
  1. an upward shove or raise; lift.

  2. an increase; rise: There's been a tremendous boost in food prices.

  1. an act, remark, or the like, that helps one's progress, morale, efforts, etc.: His pep talk was the boost our team needed.

Origin of boost

1
An Americanism dating back to 1815–25; perhaps Scots dialect boose (variant of pouss push) + (hoi)st

Other words for boost

Words Nearby boost

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use boost in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for boost

boost

/ (buːst) /


noun
  1. encouragement, improvement, or help: a boost to morale

  2. an upward thrust or push: he gave him a boost over the wall

  1. an increase or rise: a boost in salary

  2. a publicity campaign; promotion

  3. the amount by which the induction pressure of a supercharged internal-combustion engine exceeds that of the ambient pressure

verb(tr)
  1. to encourage, assist, or improve: to boost morale

  2. to lift by giving a push from below or behind

  1. to increase or raise: to boost the voltage in an electrical circuit

  2. to cause to rise; increase: to boost sales

  3. to advertise on a big scale

  4. to increase the induction pressure of (an internal-combustion engine) above that of the ambient pressure; supercharge

Origin of boost

1
C19: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for boost

boost

[ bōōst ]


  1. A linear map from one reference frame to another in which each coordinate is increased or decreased by an independent constant or linear function. A boost corresponds to a shift of the entire coordinate system without any rotation of its axes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.