bootlicker

American  

[boot-lik-er] / ˈbutˌlɪk ər /

noun

1. someone who seeks favor or goodwill in a servile, degraded way; toady.

   He comes across as a facile bootlicker, someone who would do anything like a lapdog to please somebody in the chain of command.

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Etymology

Origin of bootlicker

boot ¹ ( def. ) + lick ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

We need less "how dare they" and more "ha ha people who give in are sad bootlickers."

From Salon

Now he brings an increasingly obnoxious entourage of bootlickers with him every day.

From Salon

That caught Mr. Lee’s ear: “The suggestion that I’m beholden to either party, that I’ve been a bootlicker for either party, is folly,” he protested.

From New York Times

His name gave us the English word "quisling": it means a lackey, a traitor, a bootlicker.

From BBC

Others took aim at the show’s creator and producer Lorne Michaels, calling him “the undefeated bootlicker” and suggesting that he “needs to retire and NBC needs to clean house completely.”

From Washington Post

Related Words

• adherent
• admirer
• advocate
• backer
• believer
• client
• devotee
• disciple
• fan
• member
• participant
• patron
• supporter
• worshiper