bootlick

American  

[boot-lik] / ˈbutˌlɪk /

verb (used with object)

1. to seek the favor or goodwill of in a servile, degraded way; toady to.

   Synonyms:

   apple-polish, fawn, flatter

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verb (used without object)

1. to be a toady.

   Synonyms:

   apple-polish, fawn, flatter

bootlick British  

/ ˈbuːtˌlɪk /

verb

1. informal to seek favour by servile or ingratiating behaviour towards (someone, esp someone in authority); toady

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Other Word Forms

• bootlicker noun

Etymology

Origin of bootlick

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; boot ¹ + lick

Example Sentences

In its affection for the rig’s working-class human inhabitants — pointedly not its bootlicking middle managers — Still Wakes the Deep lays out a politics inseparable from place.

From New York Times

Tiara-crowned, dressed in a gown made of white dinner gloves, and wielding a whip, she castigated the gathered company: “That’s enough! No more bootlicking. Black art must take more risks.”

From New York Times

One name that won't be on the list is Kelly Loeffler, whose loss in the runoff in Georgia was likely because of her servile bootlicking of Trump.

From Salon

“All that bootlicking on Fox News finally paid off for Mark Penn,” David Axelrod, Obama’s senior adviser while he was president, tweeted of the news that Penn had visited Trump.

From Washington Post

Bugliosi denounced Manson as the “dictatorial maharajah of a tribe of bootlicking slaves,” calling Manson’s followers “robots” and “zombies.”

From Washington Times