booting

boot ¹

 (bo͞ot)

n.

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.

4.

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).

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[Middle English bote, from Old French.]

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boot ²

 (bo͞ot)

intr.v. boot·ed, boot·ing, boots

To be of help or advantage; avail.

n.

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.

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

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

booting

The process of setting up all of the operating programs of a computer, section by section until complete and ready to operate.

Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited