boast
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
boast¹
- /bəʊst/ UK
- /boʊst/ US
Rhymes with -əʊst
Where it comes from
From Middle English bosten, from bost (“boast, glory, noise, arrogance, presumption, pride, vanity”), probably of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *bausuz (“inflated, swollen, puffed up, proud, arrogant, bad”).
Cognate with Scots bost, boist (“to threaten, brag, boast”), Anglo-Norman bost (“ostentation”) (from Germanic). Related to Norwegian baus (“proud, bold, daring”), dialectal German baustern (“to swell”), German böse (“evil, bad, angry”), Dutch boos (“evil, wicked, angry”), West Frisian boas (“bad, wicked, angry, shrewd, clever”). Compare also dialectal Norwegian bausta, busta (“to rush onward, make a noise”). Possible doublet of boost.
Compare typologically puffy, Russian напы́щенный (napýščennyj), наду́тый (nadútyj).
noun boasts
- A brag; ostentatious positive appraisal of oneself.
- Something that one brags about. It was his regular boast that he could eat two full English breakfasts in one sitting.
- A shot where the ball is driven off a side wall and then strikes the front wall.
verb boasts · boasting · boasted
- To brag; to talk loudly in praise of oneself. On no account will he or any other kind be able to boast that he's escaped the pursuit of those who can follow so detailed and comprehensive a method of enquiry.
- [with about or of] To speak of with pride, vanity, or exultation, with a view to self-commendation; to extol. Lest bad men should boast / Their specious deeds.
- To speak in exulting language of another; to glory; to exult. In God we boast all the day long.
- To play a boast shot.
- To possess (a special and desirable quality). The hotel boasts one of the best views of the sea.
Similar: brag, crow, vaunt · Opposite: depreciate
boast²
- /bəʊst/ UK
- /boʊst/ US
Rhymes with -əʊst
verb boasts · boasting · boasted
- To dress, as a stone, with a broad chisel.
- To shape roughly as a preparation for the finer work to follow; to cut to the general form required.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: brag, vaunt, jactitation, gasconade, bluster, self-praise, feature, tout, blow, sport, swash, gas, swagger, pride, flaunt, enjoy
verb
Similar: brag, crow, vaunt · Opposite: depreciate
Translations
Every language
noun brag
| Español | alarde, fanfarronada, vanagloria, jactancia |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 自慢 jiman |
| 中文 | 吹牛 chuīniú |
| Português | ostentação |
| Français | vantardise, fanfaronnade |
| Deutsch | Angeben, Prahlen |
| Italiano | vanteria, guasconeria, vanto |
| Ελληνικά | καύχημα káfchima |
| Română | lăudăroșenie, fanfaronadă |
| Русский | хвастовство́ xvastovstvó, бахва́льство baxválʹstvo, самохва́льство samoxválʹstvo |
| Tiếng Việt | khoe |
| العربية | تَبَاهٍ tabāhin |
| עברית | התרברבות hitravr'vút, התפארות hitpa'arút |
noun something that one brags about
| Ελληνικά | καύχημα káfchima |
|---|
noun shot
| Français | double-mur |
|---|
verb 1. intransitive: to brag; to talk loudly in praise of oneself
| Español | alardear, fanfarronear, vanagloriarse, jactarse, ufanarse, fardar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 자랑하다 jaranghada, 자만하다 jamanhada, 뽐내다 ppomnaeda |
| 日本語 | 自慢する jiman suru, 力む rikimu |
| 中文 | 吹牛 chuīniú, 吹噓 /吹嘘 chuīxū, 自誇 /自夸 zìkuā, 自詡 /自诩 zìxǔ |
| हिन्दी | डींग मारना ḍīṅg mārnā |
| Português | ostentar, exibir-se, gabar |
| Français | se vanter |
| Deutsch | angeben, prahlen |
| Italiano | vantarsi |
| Ελληνικά | κομπάζω kompázo, υπερηφανεύομαι yperifanévomai |
| Română | a se lăuda |
| Русский | хва́статься xvástatʹsja, хва́стать xvástatʹ, бахва́литься baxválitʹsja, хвали́ться xvalítʹsja |
| Tiếng Việt | khoe khoang, khoác lác, nói khoác |
| العربية | تَبَاهَى tabāhā |
| עברית | התרברב hitravrév, הִתְפָּאֵר hitpa'ér |
verb 2. transitive: to speak of with pride, vanity, or exultation, with a view to self-commendation
| Español | pavonear(se) de, alardear de, fardar de, fanfarronear de, jactar (se de), dragonear de |
|---|---|
| Português | gabar-se, vangloriar-se, jactar-se, jactar |
| Français | se vanter, vanter |
| Italiano | vantarsi, vantare |
| العربية | تَفَاخَرَ tafāḵara |
verb 5. transitive: to possess something special
| Español | ostentar, presumir de |
|---|
Talk about this word "boast." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/boast. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. boast. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/boast "boast." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/boast.Cite this
@misc{boast_2026,
title = {boast},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/boast},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
