Bolt vs. Boot — What's the Difference?

A bar made of wood or metal that slides into a socket and is used to fasten doors and gates.

A boot, plural boots, is a type of specific footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf.

A metal bar or rod in the mechanism of a lock that is thrown or withdrawn by turning the key.

A sturdy item of footwear covering the foot and ankle, and sometimes also the lower leg

A fastener consisting of a threaded pin or rod with a head at one end, designed to be inserted through holes in assembled parts and secured by a mated nut that is tightened by applying torque.

A hard kick

A sliding metal bar that positions the cartridge in breechloading rifles, closes the breech, and ejects the spent cartridge.

An enclosed space at the back of a car for carrying luggage or other goods.

A similar device in any breech mechanism.

The process of starting a computer and putting it into a state of readiness for operation

A short, heavy arrow with a thick head, used especially with a crossbow.

As well; in addition

A flash of lightning; a thunderbolt.

Kick (something) hard in a specified direction

A sudden or unexpected event

Start (a computer) and put it into a state of readiness for operation

A sudden movement toward or away.

Place a wheel clamp on (an illegally parked car)

A large roll of cloth of a definite length, especially as it comes from the loom.

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

To secure or lock with or as if with a bolt.

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

To arrange or roll (lengths of cloth, for example) on or in a bolt.

Chiefly British An automobile trunk.

To eat (food) hurriedly and with little chewing; gulp.

A kick.

To desert or withdraw support from (a political party).

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

To utter impulsively; blurt.

(Slang) A swift, pleasurable feeling; a thrill.

(Archaic) To shoot or discharge (a missile, such as an arrow).

A Denver boot.

To move or spring suddenly.

A marine or navy recruit in basic training.

To start suddenly and run away

(Computers) The process of starting or restarting a computer.

To break away from an affiliation, as from a political party.

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

(Botany) To flower or produce seeds prematurely or develop a flowering stem from a rosette.

Chiefly Southern & Midland US See lagniappe.

To pass (flour, for example) through a sieve.

(Archaic) Advantage; avail.

A (usually) metal fastener consisting of a cylindrical body that is threaded, with a larger head on one end. It can be inserted into an unthreaded hole up to the head, with a nut then threaded on the other end; a heavy machine screw.

To put boots on.

A sliding pin or bar in a lock or latch mechanism.

To kick

A bar of wood or metal dropped in horizontal hooks on a door and adjoining wall or between the two sides of a double door, to prevent the door(s) from being forced open.

(Slang) To discharge unceremoniously.

A sliding mechanism to chamber and unchamber a cartridge in a firearm.

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

A small personal-armour-piercing missile for short-range use, or (in common usage though deprecated by experts) a short arrow, intended to be shot from a crossbow or a catapult.

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

A lightning spark, i.e., a lightning bolt.

(Baseball) To misplay (a ground ball).

A sudden event, action or emotion.

To be of help or advantage; avail.

A large roll of fabric or similar material, as a bolt of cloth.

A heavy shoe that covers part of the leg.

(nautical) The standard linear measurement of canvas for use at sea: 39 yards.

(sports) A kind of sports shoe worn by players of certain games such as cricket and football.

A sudden spring or start; a sudden leap aside.

A blow with the foot; a kick.

A sudden flight, as to escape creditors.

(construction) A flexible cover of rubber or plastic, which may be preformed to a particular shape and used to protect a shaft, lever, switch, or opening from dust, dirt, moisture, etc.

A refusal to support a nomination made by the party with which one has been connected; a breaking away from one's party.

(usually preceded by definite article) A torture device used on the feet or legs, such as a Spanish boot.

An iron to fasten the legs of a prisoner; a shackle; a fetter.

(US) A parking enforcement device used to immobilize a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.

A burst of speed or efficiency.

(aviation) A rubber bladder on the leading edge of an aircraft’s wing, which is inflated periodically to remove ice buildup; a deicing boot.

A stalk or scape (of garlic, onion, etc).

(obsolete) A place at the side of a coach, where attendants rode; also, a low outside place before and behind the body of the coach.

A sieve, especially a long fine sieve used in milling for bolting flour and meal; a bolter.

(archaic) A place for baggage at either end of an old-fashioned stagecoach.

To connect or assemble pieces using a bolt.

A recently arrived recruit; a rookie.

To secure a door by locking or barring it.

The luggage storage compartment of a sedan or saloon car.

(intransitive) To flee, to depart, to accelerate suddenly.

The act or process of removing or firing someone (dismissing them from a job or other post).

(transitive) To cause to start or spring forth; to dislodge (an animal being hunted).

An unattractive person, ugly woman.

To strike or fall suddenly like a bolt.

A black person.

(intransitive) To escape.

(firearms) A hard plastic case for a long firearm, typically moulded to the shape of the gun and intended for use in a vehicle.

To produce flower stalks and flowers or seeds quickly or prematurely; to form a bolt (stalk or scape); to go to seed.

(baseball) A bobbled ball.

To swallow food without chewing it.

(botany) The inflated flag leaf sheath of a wheat plant.

To drink one's drink very quickly; to down a drink.

(slang) A linear amplifier used with CB radio.

To refuse to support a nomination made by a party or caucus with which one has been connected; to break away from a party.

A tyre.

To utter precipitately; to blurt or throw out.

(US) A crust end-piece of a loaf of bread.

To sift, especially through a cloth.

Remedy, amends.

To sift the bran and germ from wheat flour.

(uncountable) Profit, plunder.

To separate, assort, refine, or purify by other means.

That which is given to make an exchange equal, or to make up for the deficiency of value in one of the things exchanged; compensation; recompense.

(legal) To discuss or argue privately, and for practice, as cases at law.

(obsolete) Profit; gain; advantage; use.

Suddenly; straight; unbendingly.

(obsolete) Repair work; the act of fixing structures or buildings.

A shaft or missile intended to be shot from a crossbow or catapult, esp. a short, stout, blunt-headed arrow; a quarrel; an arrow, or that which resembles an arrow; a dart.

(obsolete) A medicinal cure or remedy.

Lightning; a thunderbolt.

(computing) The act or process of bootstrapping; the starting or re-starting of a computing device.

A strong pin, of iron or other material, used to fasten or hold something in place, often having a head at one end and screw thread cut upon the other end.

(informal) A bootleg recording.

A sliding catch, or fastening, as for a door or gate; the portion of a lock which is shot or withdrawn by the action of the key.

To kick.

An iron to fasten the legs of a prisoner; a shackle; a fetter.

To put boots on, especially for riding.

A compact package or roll of cloth, as of canvas or silk, often containing about forty yards.

To step on the accelerator of a vehicle for faster acceleration than usual or to drive faster than usual.

A bundle, as of oziers.

To apply corporal punishment (compare slippering).

A sudden spring or start; a sudden spring aside; as, the horse made a bolt.

(informal) To eject; kick out.

A sudden flight, as to escape creditors.

(often with up) To start or restart a computer or other electronic system; to bootstrap.

A refusal to support a nomination made by the party with which one has been connected; a breaking away from one's party.

To disconnect forcibly; to eject from an online service, conversation, etc.

A sieve, esp. a long fine sieve used in milling for bolting flour and meal; a bolter.

(slang) To vomit.

To shoot; to discharge or drive forth.

To shoot, to kill by gunfire.

To utter precipitately; to blurt or throw out.

To avail, benefit, profit.

To swallow without chewing; as, to bolt food; often used with down.

To benefit, to enrich; to give in addition.

To refuse to support, as a nomination made by a party to which one has belonged or by a caucus in which one has taken part.

(computing) To bootstrap; to start a system, e.g. a computer, by invoking its boot process or bootstrap.

To cause to start or spring forth; to dislodge, as conies, rabbits, etc.

Remedy; relief; amends; reparation; hence, one who brings relief.

To fasten or secure with, or as with, a bolt or bolts, as a door, a timber, fetters; to shackle; to restrain.

That which is given to make an exchange equal, or to make up for the deficiency of value in one of the things exchanged.

To start forth like a bolt or arrow; to spring abruptly; to come or go suddenly; to dart; as, to bolt out of the room.

Profit; gain; advantage; use.

To strike or fall suddenly like a bolt.

A covering for the foot and lower part of the leg, ordinarily made of leather.

To spring suddenly aside, or out of the regular path; as, the horse bolted.

An instrument of torture for the leg, formerly used to extort confessions, particularly in Scotland.

To refuse to support a nomination made by a party or a caucus with which one has been connected; to break away from a party.

A place at the side of a coach, where attendants rode; also, a low outside place before and behind the body of the coach.

To sift or separate the coarser from the finer particles of, as bran from flour, by means of a bolter; to separate, assort, refine, or purify by other means.

A place for baggage at either end of an old-fashioned stagecoach.

To separate, as if by sifting or bolting; - with out.

An apron or cover (of leather or rubber cloth) for the driving seat of a vehicle, to protect from rain and mud.

To discuss or argue privately, and for practice, as cases at law.

The metal casing and flange fitted about a pipe where it passes through a roof.

In the manner of a bolt; suddenly; straight; unbendingly.

Booty; spoil.

A discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder

To profit; to advantage; to avail; - generally followed by it; as, what boots it?

A sliding bar in a breech-loading firearm that ejects an empty cartridge and replaces it and closes the breech

To enrich; to benefit; to give in addition.

The part of a lock that is engaged or withdrawn with a key

To put boots on, esp. for riding.

The act of moving with great haste;

To punish by kicking with a booted foot.

A roll of cloth or wallpaper of a definite length

To boot one's self; to put on one's boots.

A screw that screws into a nut to form a fastener

Footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg

A sudden abandonment (as from a political party)

British term for the luggage compartment in a car

Move or jump suddenly;

The swift release of a store of affective force;

Secure or lock with a bolt;

Protective casing for something that resembles a leg

Swallow hastily

An instrument of torture that is used to crush the foot and leg

Run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along

The act of delivering a blow with the foot;

Leave suddenly and as if in a hurry;

Kick; give a boot to

Eat hastily without proper chewing;

Cause to load (an operating system) and start the initial processes;

Make or roll into bolts;

In a rigid manner;

Directly;