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.

---

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

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

Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir offered no apologies for the collapse of the grid but lauded the nation’s engineers and technicians for their efforts to boot up the system.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 24, 2023

With sour making my whole head pucker, with the boy boycott back in full swing, I boot up my laptop and type into The Oracle: Guillermo Garcia and Art Tomorrow, hoping to find Mom’s interview.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson