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bootjack

American  
[boot-jak] / ˈbutˌdʒæk /

noun

  1. a yokelike device for catching the heel of a boot, as a riding boot, to aid in removing it.

  2. a notch or molding for the same purpose, cut into a piece of furniture.

bootjack British  
/ ˈbuːtˌdʒæk /

noun

  1. a device that grips the heel of a boot to enable the foot to be withdrawn easily

"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

Etymology

Origin of bootjack

First recorded in 1835–45; boot 1 + jack 1

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.

Governor Harry Woodring of Kansas exhibited a bootjack which was sold for $6.

From Time Magazine Archive

Best bootjack was that of Woodrow Weaver, 16.

From Time Magazine Archive

Later in the evening, when his mind had been set at rest about the bootjack, Laurie said suddenly to his wife, “Mrs. Laurence.”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

He then said to his dog, 'Dandie, I cannot find my bootjack; search for it.'

From Anecdotes of Dogs by Jesse, Edward

Suppose you do discover that in the summer of 1820 an English major threw a bootjack at his syce?

From Carlyon Sahib by Murray, Gilbert

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.