booting
booting — noun
1. a type of strong shoe that covers your whole foot and the lower part of your leg
a type of strong shoe that covers your whole foot and the lower part of your leg, usually made of leather or rubber and worn for protection or fashion
Theo laced up his leather boots before heading out into the heavy rain.
leather boots — material + purpose collocation
Amara wore thick rubber boots to walk through the muddy field behind her house.
The soldier polished his black combat boots until they shone under the light.
combat boots — military context
- leather boots
- rubber boots
- combat boots
- cowboy boots
- a pair of boots
- lace up boots
- pull on boots
- wellingtons
rubber boots that reach the knee for wet conditions
- ankle boots
shorter boots that only cover the foot and ankle
Grammar Patterns
pair of boots
wearing boots
Usage Note
Countable noun; frequently used in plural form 'boots' even when referring to one pair.
Common Mistakes
2. a protective covering or part shaped like a boot that fits over something to shi
a protective covering or part shaped like a boot that fits over something to shield it from damage or dirt
The rubber boot around the car's gear stick prevents dust from getting inside the mechanism.
rubber boot — protective covering collocation
Kwame replaced the worn-out boot on the washing machine hose before it started leaking again.
A thick leather boot covers the end of the walking stick to stop it from slipping on wet ground.
- rubber boot
- leather boot
- gear stick boot
- protective boot
Grammar Patterns
boot of [vehicle/device]
Usage Note
Often appears in technical contexts referring to a protective casing on machinery, vehicles, or tools.
3. a covered space at the back of a car where you keep luggage, shopping bags, or o
a covered space at the back of a car where you keep luggage, shopping bags, or other items
Henrik put the three large suitcases into the boot and closed the lid tightly.
The shopping bags fell over in the boot during the drive home from the supermarket.
in the boot — preposition collocation
Deepak found the spare tyre at the bottom of the boot underneath the floor mat.
- in the boot
- put in the boot
- boot space
- boot lid
- trunk
American English equivalent
Grammar Patterns
in the boot
put [something] in the boot
Usage Note
Primarily British English; American English uses 'trunk' instead.
Common Mistakes
4. a situation where someone is told to leave their job, usually because they made
a situation where someone is told to leave their job, usually because they made a mistake or did something wrong
After arriving late three days in a row, the manager gave Eva the boot without any warning.
give [someone] the boot — idiom for firing
The new cashier got the boot on his first week when the boss caught him stealing from the till.
Samira knew she would get the boot after the company discovered the missing money in the accounts.
- get the boot
- give the boot
- the boot
- get the sack
British informal expression for being fired, similar in tone
- get fired
more direct and neutral in register
Grammar Patterns
get the boot
give [someone] the boot
Usage Note
Used informally. 'Get the boot' means being fired; 'give someone the boot' means firing them. More common in British English.
5. a hard hit or push with the foot, usually given on purpose
a hard hit or push with the foot, usually given on purpose
The horse gave the gate a swift boot with its back leg and broke the lock.
Luisa's little brother gave the football a boot and sent it sailing over the garden fence.
give [ball] a boot — kick collocation
The angry driver got out and gave the flat tyre a hard boot in frustration.
- give a boot
- a swift boot
Grammar Patterns
give [someone/something] a boot
Usage Note
Less common than 'kick' for formal contexts. 'Give [something] a boot' is informal British usage.
6. a heavy metal device locked onto the wheel of a parked car to stop it from being
a heavy metal device locked onto the wheel of a parked car to stop it from being driven until a fine is paid
Omar returned to find a bright yellow boot clamped onto the front wheel of his van.
The parking officer put a boot on the red car after the owner ignored three parking tickets.
put a boot on [car] — collocation for clamping
Paying the fine at the council office was the only way to get the boot removed from her car.
- put a boot on
- get a boot
- remove the boot
- Denver boot
American English term for the same device
- wheel clamp
the more formal term
Grammar Patterns
put a boot on [a car]
get a boot
Usage Note
Also called a 'Denver boot' or 'wheel clamp'. More common in British and Australian English.
7. a strong feeling of enjoyment, excitement, or pleasure that you get from doing s
a strong feeling of enjoyment, excitement, or pleasure that you get from doing something
The children got a real boot out of watching the clowns perform tricks at the birthday party.
get a boot out of [something] — enjoyment idiom
Old Mr Chen still gets a boot out of telling funny stories about his days as a sailor.
Ananya got a huge boot out of seeing her brother slip on the wet kitchen floor.
- get a boot out of
Grammar Patterns
get a boot out of [something]
Usage Note
Always used in the phrase 'get a boot out of [something]'. Similar in meaning to 'get a kick out of'.
booting — verb
- bootingpresent simple I / you / we / they
- bootings3rd person singular
- bootinging-ing form
- bootingedpast simple
1. to hit someone or something hard with your foot, often in anger or to move somet
to hit someone or something hard with your foot, often in anger or to move something forcefully
In frustration, Diego booted the empty soda can across the parking lot toward the bin.
boot + object + direction phrase — movement pattern
The goalkeeper booted the ball all the way down the field to the striker waiting near the goal.
Hao accidentally booted his backpack down the stairs while rushing to catch the morning train.
- boot the ball
- boot something across
- boot something down
Grammar Patterns
boot [something/someone]
boot [something] + adverb phrase
Usage Note
Stronger and more forceful than the neutral verb 'kick'. Often implies a sudden, powerful motion.
2. to start or prepare a computer for use by loading its operating system into its
to start or prepare a computer for use by loading its operating system into its memory, or to become ready for use in this way
Emma booted her laptop and waited impatiently for the login screen to appear.
boot + object — transitive: starting a computer
The office server boots up automatically every morning at six o'clock without anyone touching it.
boot up — intransitive: computer starts by itself
Jack tried to boot the old computer, but the hard drive had failed and nothing appeared on screen.
- boot the computer
- boot up
- boot the system
- boot into Windows
- boot from a disk
Grammar Patterns
boot (up)
boot [a computer/system]
boot into [an OS]
Usage Note
Often used with 'up' — 'boot up' means the same as 'boot'. The noun form 'booting' refers to the startup process itself.
Common Mistakes
3. in baseball, to make a mistake by failing to catch or handle a ball that has bee
in baseball, to make a mistake by failing to catch or handle a ball that has been hit along the ground, allowing the batter to reach a base
The shortstop booted an easy grounder in the ninth inning, and the other team scored the winning run.
boot a grounder — baseball error collocation
Chidi booted the ball during warm-ups, and his teammates teased him about it for the rest of practice.
The coach was angry when the first baseman booted a simple catch and let the batter reach second base.
- boot a grounder
- boot the ball
- boot a catch
- muff
also means to fail to catch a ball, but less common
- make an error on
the official baseball term, more formal
Grammar Patterns
boot [the ball/a grounder]
Usage Note
Very specific to baseball. Not used in cricket or other sports. Comparable to 'muff' or 'make an error on'.
boot up
phrasal verbto start a computer so that it becomes ready for use, or for a computer to become ready for use after being started
The system takes nearly five minutes to boot up because the hard drive is quite old and slow.
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/2
'Boot' and 'boot up' are specific to computers and refer to loading the operating system — 'I booted my laptop but it took five minutes.' 'Start up' is more general and can apply to any machine: engines, generators, or appliances. 'Power on' focuses on the electrical act of turning on the power supply, not necessarily the software loading process. 'Launch' is used for opening specific programs rather than the whole system — you launch an app, but you boot the computer. For everyday conversation, 'boot' is the most natural term for computers, while 'start up' sounds more neutral in formal writing.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'boot' for footwear comes from Old French 'bote', meaning a kind of shoe. The computer meaning of 'booting' started in the 1950s and comes from the idea of 'pulling yourself up by your bootstraps' — a computer has to load a tiny starter program that then pulls in the whole operating system all by itself. The sports meaning of kicking goes back to the 1800s, from the shoe itself being used as a weapon. The car 'boot' comes from a 1700s meaning of a storage compartment on a horse-drawn carriage.