unbolt
Americanverb (used with object)
-
unbolts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unbolted,
past participle, past
-
unbolting
present participle
-
to open (a door, window, etc.) by or as if by removing a bolt; unlock; unfasten.
-
to release, as by the removal of threaded bolts.
He unscrewed the nuts and unbolted the inspection cover.
verb (used without object)
-
unbolts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
unbolted,
past participle, past
-
unbolting
present participle
verb
-
to unfasten a bolt of (a door)
-
to undo (the nut) on a bolt
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
unboltsimple
-
unboltssimple
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have unboltedperfect
-
has unboltedperfect
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am unboltingprogressive
-
are unboltingprogressive
-
is unboltingprogressive
-
have been unboltingperfect progressive
-
has been unboltingperfect progressive
Past
-
unboltedsimple
-
had unboltedperfect
-
was unboltingprogressive
-
were unboltingprogressive
-
had been unboltingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unbolt
Explanation
When you unbolt something, you unfasten its lock. Unbolt the gate so I can put my bike away! When you open the particular type of lock called a bolt, you unbolt it. Turn a key or latch in your front door to slide the bolt closed, and you bolt the door. Slide it open, and you unbolt it. This verb comes from the prefix un- ("reversal") and bolt, a word that's been used to mean "part of a lock which springs out" since around 1400.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Wiseman then switched to a ratchet wrench to unbolt the failed device, known as a sequential shunt unit, or SSU.
From Reuters ● Oct. 15, 2014
“What if I found a way to unbolt the metal screens and crawl through the fan ducts into your cell, would you let me do it?”
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2014
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service could not cut the spike as it was too thick, opting instead to unbolt it.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2014
Grissom, White and Chaffee tried — briefly — to unbolt the hatch, but they were quickly overcome.
From Time ● Jan. 28, 2011
When they reached the very bottom and the wall rose frowning above them, Lasaraleen was shaking so that she could not unbolt the gate.
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
The monk woman unbolts a door, barely big enough for a medium-sized Labrador, and I stoop through.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2017
Some love seats and sofas are built with a frame system that unbolts easily once the dust cover on the bottom is removed, while others are a lot trickier to take apart.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 26, 2016
At the door he stops, collects himself, and quietly unbolts the door.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Yet on the third night she actually unbolts it herself and leaving it unbolted puts out her light and goes to bed.
From The Broken Road by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason
"The brass one unlocks the great door, and—and—the—M. Picot's cell unbolts," she stammered.
From Heralds of Empire Being the Story of One Ramsay Stanhope, Lieutenant to Pierre Radisson in the Northern Fur Trade by Agnes C. (Agnes Christina) Laut
Arrays of Russian sensors to sniff, scour and study the planet’s environment may have to be unbolted and replaced and a non-Russian launcher rocket found if the suspension of their collaboration becomes a lasting rupture.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 27, 2022
For example, a converted 1991 Porsche can be unbolted and retuned back to its original state.
From The Verge ● Nov. 22, 2021
Even the America’s Cup was finally unbolted from its display case at the New York Yacht Club after 132 years.
From The Guardian ● May 4, 2018
The impact unbolted a large crystal chandelier above the ambassador’s desk that missed his head by inches.
From The New Yorker ● May 13, 2016
He sprinted noiselessly across the room, removed the chair from under the door handle and with precaution unlocked and unbolted the door.
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
The U.S. better start unbolting the trophy from the New York Yacht Club.
From Time Magazine Archive
He was roused by an unbolting of bars, the turning of huge, unwieldy keys, and the lieutenant of the castle stood before him.
From International Weekly Miscellany — Volume 1, No. 2, July 8, 1850 by Various
He therefore commenced proceedings by putting his arm over the half-door of the bar, coolly unbolting it, and leisurely walking in.
From The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
"There's no harm in opening it now," replied his companion, casting off the lashings and unbolting the heavy iron slide.
From The Nameless Island A Story of some Modern Robinson Crusoes by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
As he was unbolting the trap, Walter ran into a bedroom and seized an armful of blankets, then ran up the ladder to the trapdoor, and stepped out on to the roof.
From Orange and Green A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
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