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boot¹

(bt)

1. A durable covering for the foot and part or much of the leg, usually made of leather, fabric, plastic, or rubber.

2. A protective covering, especially a sheath to enclose the base of a floor-mounted gear shift lever in a car or truck.

3. Chiefly British An automobile trunk.

a. A kick.

b. Slang An unceremonious dismissal, as from a job. Used with the.

c. Slang A swift, pleasurable feeling; a thrill.

5. A Denver boot.

6. A marine or navy recruit in basic training.

7. Computers The process of starting or restarting a computer.

8. boots An instrument of torture, used to crush the foot and leg.

tr.v. boot·ed, boot·ing, boots

1. To put boots on.

2. To kick: booted the ball into the goal.

3. Slang To discharge unceremoniously. See Synonyms at dismiss.

4. Computers To start (a computer) by loading an operating system from a disk.

5. To disable (a vehicle) by attaching a Denver boot.

6. Baseball To misplay (a ground ball).

Idiom:

boots on the ground

1. Soldiers actively serving in a conflict zone: attempted to win the war with airstrikes rather than with boots on the ground.

2. Personnel actively engaging in an effort at a fundamental level: failed to mobilize enough boots on the ground to win the election.

[Middle English bote, from Old French.]

boot²

(bt)

intr.v. boot·ed, boot·ing, boots

To be of help or advantage; avail.

1. Chiefly Southern & Midland US See lagniappe.

2. Archaic Advantage; avail.

Idiom:

to boot

In addition; besides: The new cruise ship was not only the biggest in the world, but the fastest to boot.

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

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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