boot up

Idioms  

1. Start a computer, as in When you've booted up, it's best not to turn off the computer until you're done for the day. The term, dating from the late 1970s, was a shortening of bootstrap, another computer idiom referring to using one set of instructions to load another set of instructions. Also see log in.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

boot up

So every day after school, I’d sprint down to my family’s basement and boot up our enormous Gateway 2000 computer.

From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2025

Fly-half Holly Aitchison has had a mixed tournament with the boot up until this match, with Mitchell saying in the week he had no concerns over her kicking and being proved correct in Bordeaux.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2024

The region boasts the largest reserves of lithium in the world, which make up the lithium-ion batteries that boot up the electronic devices used by billions around the globe.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 11, 2024

Here’s the part that still remains very much in effect, every time you boot up Zoom:

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2023

“Put out that wretched light!” he shouted, hurling the boot up at the ceiling.

From "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl