bootstrap

[boot-strap]

noun

1. a loop of leather or cloth sewn at the top rear, or sometimes on each side, of a boot to facilitate pulling it on.

2. a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something.

   He used his business experience as a bootstrap to win voters.

adjective

1. relying entirely on one's efforts and resources.

   The business was a bootstrap operation for the first ten years.

2. self-generating or self-sustaining.

   a bootstrap process.

verb (used with object)

bootstrapped, bootstrapping 

1. Computers.,  boot.

2. to help (oneself) without the aid of others.

   She spent years bootstrapping herself through college.

bootstrap

/ ˈbuːtˌstræp /

noun

1. a leather or fabric loop on the back or side of a boot for pulling it on

2. by one's own efforts; unaided

3. (modifier) self-acting or self-sufficient, as an electronic amplifier that uses its output voltage to bias its input

4. 1. Also: boot. a technique for loading the first few program instructions into a computer main store to enable the rest of the program to be introduced from an input device

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bootstrap loader

5. commerce an offer to purchase a controlling interest in a company, esp with the intention of purchasing the remainder of the equity at a lower price

verb

1. to set up or achieve (something) using minimal resources

2. (foll by to) to attach (something) to a larger or more important thing

Word History and Origins

Origin of bootstrap¹

First recorded in 1890–95; boot ¹ + strap

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. pull oneself up by one's bootstraps, to help oneself without the aid of others; use one's resources.

   I admire him for pulling himself up by his own bootstraps.

Example Sentences

Those who pull themselves up by the bootstraps should be able to attain a life materially more comfortable than their parents’.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

SilverSneakers represents just a small slice of that — the costs are not broken out by MedPAC — but it’s significant enough that the bootstrap venture has turned into a big business.

Read more on MarketWatch

The president found a way to bootstrap from a 1930s eras statute.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Migrating to another cloud provider or implementing a multi-cloud strategy would likely be too costly for a bootstrapped startup like his.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The myth of individualism and “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps” rarely stands a chance against those realities.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• reboot 
• reset