bootstrap

[ boot-strap ]

/ ˈbutˌstræp /

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See synonyms for bootstrap on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something: He used his business experience as a bootstrap to win voters.

adjective

relying entirely on one's efforts and resources: The business was a bootstrap operation for the first ten years.

self-generating or self-sustaining: a bootstrap process.

verb (used with object), boot·strapped, boot·strap·ping.

Computers. boot¹ (defs. 24, 28).

to help (oneself) without the aid of others: She spent years bootstrapping herself through college.

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Idioms about bootstrap

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.

Origin of bootstrap

First recorded in 1890–95; boot¹ + strap

Words nearby bootstrap

boot money, boot out, boots, boots and all, boots and saddles, bootstrap, bootstrap memory, bootstrap paradox, boottopping, boot tree, boot up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bootstrap in a sentence

Awotona put his entire life savings into Calendly and managed to bootstrap it for years before taking a $350 million funding round led by OpenView and Iconiq.
Calendly CEO Tope Awotona is joining us at Disrupt 2021|Jordan Crook|July 30, 2021|TechCrunch
“We could start an algorithm that initially does not have much intelligence inside it, and watch it bootstrap itself all the way up potentially to AGI,” Clune says.
AI is learning how to create itself|Will Douglas Heaven|May 27, 2021|MIT Technology Review
The offset thing that we think will stand up is if you gather money from companies and consumers to bootstrap the market for clean steel and clean cement.
Bill Gates: Rich nations should shift entirely to synthetic beef|James Temple|February 15, 2021|MIT Technology Review
It was also at this point I realized that, despite being in the midst of a pandemic, we had managed to bootstrap our way through and we had a product and customers.
The founder who decided to to stop fundraising and instead hold onto her equity|Rachel King|January 24, 2021|Fortune

No, I’m there as someone who spent the first eight years of my life in the Bronx, who understands what it means to have to bootstrap yourself.
Reggie Fils-Aimé spends his retirement helping underprivileged youths|Elise Favis|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
The actual gunmen had cited Osama bin Laden as their motive, but TTP was eager to bootstrap.
Death on Killer Mountain|Amanda Padoan|July 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Unlike silly examples involving broccoli and cell phones, that so-called “bootstrap” argument is sound.
Impeach the Supreme Court Justices If They Overturn Health-Care Law|David R. Dow|April 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The skeleton compiler acts as a bootstrap for introducing more sophisticated facilities.
Preliminary Specifications: Programmed Data Processor Model Three (PDP-3)|Digital Equipment Corporation
The ground is covered with stately temples of various designs, all of which I am told are consecrated to Bootstrap-lifting.
The Profits of Religion, Fifth Edition|Upton Sinclair
As I stand watching, a card is handed to me, informing me that a lady will do my Bootstrap-lifting at five dollars per lift.
The Profits of Religion, Fifth Edition|Upton Sinclair
I consult these—for my legs have given out in the effort to visit and inspect all phases of the Bootstrap-lifting practice.
The Profits of Religion, Fifth Edition|Upton Sinclair
In the few minutes before Bootstrap loomed near, they filled the bottom of the cabin with blankets.
Space Platform|Murray Leinster

British Dictionary definitions for bootstrap

bootstrap

/ (ˈbuːtˌstræp) /

noun

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

by one's bootstraps or by one's own bootstraps by one's own efforts; unaided

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

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
(as modifier)a bootstrap loader

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 -straps, -strapping or -strapped (tr)

to set up or achieve (something) using minimal resources

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

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

bootstrap

Idioms about bootstrap

Origin of bootstrap

Words nearby bootstrap

Words related to bootstrap

How to use bootstrap in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bootstrap