jackboot

[jak-boot]

noun

1. a sturdy leather boot reaching up over the knee, worn especially by soldiers.

2. Also called jackboot tactics. brutally bullying, militaristic, or authoritarian measures.

3. a person who uses such measures.

jackboot

/ ˈdʒækˌbuːt /

noun

1. an all-leather military boot, extending up to or above the knee

2. 1. arbitrary, cruel, and authoritarian rule or behaviour

   2. ( as modifier )

      jackboot tactics

Other Word Forms

• jackbooted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of jackboot¹

First recorded in 1680–90; jack ¹ + boot ¹

Example Sentences

For some people they can conjure up images of authoritarian states like Germany in the 1930s, and men in jackboots barking "May we see your papers please?"

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Not in jackboots and armbands, but in curated TV clips using old footage, policy memos, press conferences, and armed deployments justified by lies.

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Transparency in government is one of our oldest and most sacrosanct rights; it is what protects us from jackboots in the night.

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A disproportionate number not only did not even passively resist but showed themselves eager to lick the polish off Hitler’s jackboots, if necessary.

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Sorry, MAGA, but if the jackboot fits, wear it: he is an authoritarian, a statist, a racist, an aspiring fascist, a hateful, mendacious, corrupt traitor, a fool, mentally ill, and frankly evil.

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