boot

- 14 dictionary results

boot

1 [boot]

–noun

1.	a covering of leather, rubber, or the like, for the foot and all or part of the leg.

2.	Chiefly British. any shoe or outer foot covering reaching to the ankle.

3.	an overshoe, esp. one of rubber or other waterproof material.

4.	an instrument of torture for the leg, consisting of a kind of vise extending from the knee to the ankle, tightened around the leg by means of screws.

5.	any sheathlike protective covering: a boot for a weak automobile tire.

6.	a protective covering for the foot and part of the leg of a horse.

7.	a protecting cover or apron for the driver's seat of an open vehicle.

8.	the receptacle or place into which the top of a convertible car fits when lowered.

9.	a cloth covering for this receptacle or place.

10.	British. the trunk of an automobile.

11.	a rubber covering for the connection between each spark-plug terminal and ignition cable in an automotive ignition system.

12.	Also called Denver boot. a metal device attached to the wheel of a parked car so that it cannot be driven away until a fine is paid or the owner reports to the police: used by police to catch scofflaws.

13.	U.S. Navy, Marines. a recruit.

14.	Music. the box that holds the reed in the reed pipe of an organ.

15.

a kick.

16.	Slang. a dismissal; discharge: They gave him the boot for coming in late.

17.	Informal. a sensation of pleasure or amusement: Watching that young skater win a gold medal gave me a real boot.

18.	Baseball. a fumble of a ball batted on the ground, usually to the infield.

–verb (used with object)

19.	to kick; drive by kicking: The boy booted a tin can down the street.

20.	Football. to kick.

21.	Baseball. to fumble (a ground ball).

22.	to put boots on; equip or provide with boots.

23.

Also, bootstrap. Computers.

a.	to start (a computer) by loading the operating system.

b.	to start (a program) by loading the first few instructions, which will then bring in the rest.

24.	Slang. to dismiss; discharge: They booted him out of school for not studying.

25.	to attach a Denver boot to: Police will boot any car with unpaid fines.

26.	to torture with the boot.

—Idioms

27.	bet your boots, to be sure or certain: You can bet your boots that I'll be there!

28.

die with one's boots on,

a.	to die while actively engaged in one's work, profession, etc.

b.	to die fighting, esp. in battle, or in some worthy cause.

Also, especially British, die in one's boots.

29.	get a boot, Informal. to derive keen enjoyment: I really got a boot out of his ridiculous stories.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME bote < AF, OF; of uncert. orig.

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boot

2 [boot]

–noun

1.	Archaic. something given into the bargain.

Obsolete.

a.	advantage.

b.	remedy; relief; help.

–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)

3.	Archaic. to be of profit, advantage, or avail (to): It boots thee not to complain.

—Idiom

4.	to boot, in addition; besides: We received an extra week's pay to boot.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME bote, OE bōt advantage; c. D boete, G Busse, ON bōt, Goth bota; see bet, better ¹

boot

3 [boot]

–noun Archaic.

booty; spoil; plunder.

Origin:
1585–95; special use of boot ² by assoc. with booty

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To boot

boot¹ (bōōt)

Protective footgear, as of leather or rubber, covering the foot and part or all of the leg.
A protective covering, especially a sheath to enclose the base of a floor-mounted gear shift lever in a car or truck.
Chiefly British An automobile trunk.
1. A kick.
2. Slang An unceremonious dismissal, as from a job. Used with the.
3. Slang A swift, pleasurable feeling; a thrill.
A Denver boot.
A marine or navy recruit in basic training.
Computer Science The process of starting or restarting a computer.
boots An instrument of torture, used to crush the foot and leg.

tr.v. boot·ed, boot·ing, boots

To put boots on.
To kick.
Slang To discharge unceremoniously. See Synonyms at dismiss.
Computer Science To start (a computer) by loading an operating system from a disk.
To disable (a vehicle) by attaching a Denver boot.
Baseball To misplay (a ground ball).

[Middle English bote, from Old French.]

boot² (bōōt)

intr.v. boot·ed, boot·ing, boots
To be of help or advantage; avail.
n.

Chiefly Southern & Midland U.S. See lagniappe.
Archaic Advantage; avail.

[Middle English boten, to be of help, from Old English bōtian, from bōt, help; see bhad- in Indo-European roots.]

la·gniappe (lān'yəp, lān-yāp')

n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi

A small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer's purchase.
An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot². See Regional Note at beignet.

[Louisiana French, from American Spanish la ñapa, the gift : la, the (from Latin illa, feminine of ille, that, the; see al-¹ in Indo-European roots) + ñapa (variant of yapa, gift, from Quechua, from yapay, to give more).]
Lagniappe derives from New World Spanish la ñapa, "the gift," and ultimately from Quechua yapay, "to give more." The word came into the rich Creole dialect mixture of New Orleans and there acquired a French spelling. It is still used in the Gulf states, especially southern Louisiana, to denote a little bonus that a friendly shopkeeper might add to a purchase. By extension, it may mean "an extra or unexpected gift or benefit."

Slang Dictionary

boot

n.
a thrill; a charge. : I get a real boot out of my grandchildren.
tv.
to dismiss or eject someone. : I booted him myself.
n.
a dismissal or ejection. : I got the boot even though I had worked there for a decade.
tv. & in.
to start the operating system of a computer. : When I booted, all I got was a feep.
in.
to empty one's stomach; to vomit. : The kid booted and booted and will probably never smoke another cigar.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Word Origin & History

boot (1)

"footwear," c.1325, from O.Fr. bote, with corresponding words in Prov. and Sp., of unknown origin, perhaps from a Gmc. source, originally for riding boots only. The verb meaning "kick" is Amer.Eng. 1877; that of "eject" is from 1880. Boot camp is attested from 1944 but supposedly is from the Spanish-American War, in reference to boots, leggings worn by U.S. sailors, with sense transferred to "recruit."

boot (2)

"profit, use" (in phrase to boot), O.E. bot, from P.Gmc. *boto (see better).

boot (3)

"start up a computer," 1975, from bootstrap (n.), 1953, "fixed sequence of instructions to load the operating system of a computer," on notion of the first-loaded program pulling up itself by the bootstraps.

Financial Dictionary

Boot

Cash or other property added to an exchange or transaction in order to make the value of traded goods equal.

Investopedia Commentary

For example, when you trade in an older car (and cash) for a new model, the cash you pay in addition to your older car is the boot. In fact, you still hear people say things like "I'll throw in the warranty to boot," when referring to a sweetener for a deal.