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

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

These are the words that greet players when they boot up Abubakar Salim's debut video game - Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 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

The most common culprits are corrupt system or boot files, or third-party drivers that load at boot up.

From Seattle Times • May 6, 2023

I plugged it back into the wall socket and waited for the game to boot up.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline