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bootstrap

 - 7 dictionary results

boot·strap

   [boot-strap] noun, adjective, verb,-strapped, -strap·ping.
–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
3.
relying entirely on one's efforts and resources: The business was a bootstrap operation for the first ten years.
4.
self-generating or self-sustaining: a bootstrap process.
–verb (used with object)
5.
Computers. boot1 (def. 23).
6.
to help (oneself) without the aid of others: She spent years bootstrapping herself through college.
—Idiom
7.
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.
Use bootstrap in a Sentence
Origin:
1890–95; boot1 + strap

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
bootstrap (ˈbuːtˌstræp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a leather or fabric loop on the back or side of a boot for pulling it on
2.  by one's bootstraps, by one's own bootstraps 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.  a.  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
 b.  (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
 
—vb , -straps, -strapping, -strapped
6.  to set up or achieve (something) using minimal resources
7.  (foll by to) to attach (something) to a larger or more important thing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

boot
"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 itself, and the rest, up by the bootstraps.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: boot
Function: noun
Etymology: obsolete or dialect boot compensation, from Old English bOt advantage, compensation
: additional money or property received to make up the difference in an exchange of business or investment property that is of like kind but unequal in value
NOTE: Under Internal Revenue Code section 1031, no tax liability results from an exchange solely of like-kind property used in a business or trade or held for investment. If the exchange includes boot, however, under section 1245 the boot will be treated as ordinary income.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Slang Dictionary

boot definition


  1. n.
    a thrill; a charge. : I get a real boot out of my grandchildren.
  2. tv.
    to dismiss or eject someone. : I booted him myself.
  3. n.
    a dismissal or ejection. : I got the boot even though I had worked there for a decade.
  4. tv. & in.
    to start the operating system of a computer. : When I booted, all I got was a feep.
  5. 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.
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Computing Dictionary

bootstrap definition

operating system, compiler
To load and initialise the operating system on a computer. Normally abbreviated to "boot". From the curious expression "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps", one of the legendary feats of Baron von Munchhausen. The bootstrap loader is the program that runs on the computer before any (normal) program can run. Derived terms include reboot, cold boot, warm boot, soft boot and hard boot.
The term also applies to the use of a compiler to compile itself. The usual process is to write an interpreter for a language, L, in some other existing language. The compiler is then written in L and the interpreter is used to run it. This produces an executable for compiling programs in L from the source of the compiler in L. This technique is often used to verify the correctness of a compiler. It was first used in the LISP community.
See also My Favourite Toy Language.
[Jargon File]
(2005-04-12)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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