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bolo

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bolo¹

  • /ˈbəʊ.ləʊ/ UK
  • /ˈboʊ.loʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊləʊ

Where it comes from

From Philippine Spanish bolo, from Tagalog bolo.

noun bolos

  1. A long, heavy, single-edged machete.
  2. attributive A type of punch; an uppercut. He jerked me off balance and the hand with the brass knucks came around in a looping bolo punch.

verb bolos · boloing · boloed

  1. transitive To cleave or dismember (a person or an animal) with a bolo knife. "In the first place," began Drina, "you are to lie down flat on the floor and creep about and show us how the Moros wriggle through the grass to bolo our sentinels." […] Selwyn, sitting up rumpled and cross-legged on the floor, after having boloed Drina to everybody's exquisite satisfaction, looked

bolo²

  • /ˈbəʊ.ləʊ/ UK
  • /ˈboʊ.loʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊləʊ

Where it comes from

Supposedly named after Bolo Pascha, a German agent in France during World War I.

noun bolos

  1. A soldier not capable of the minimum standards of marksmanship.

verb bolos · boloing · boloed

  1. To fail to meet the minimum standards of marksmanship.

bolo³

  • /ˈbəʊ.ləʊ/ UK
  • /ˈboʊ.loʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊləʊ

Where it comes from

From Argentine Spanish boleadora (“lariat”).

noun bolos

  1. A string or leather necktie secured with an ornamental slide.

verb bolos · boloing · boloed

  1. nonce word, transitive To dress (somebody) in a bolo. Selwyn, sitting up rumpled and cross-legged on the floor, after having boloed Drina to everybody's exquisite satisfaction, looked around at the sudden rustle of skirts to catch a glimpse of a vanishing figure—a glimmer of ruddy hair and the white curve of a youthful face, half-buried in a muff.

bolo⁴

  • /ˈbəʊ.ləʊ/ UK
  • /ˈboʊ.loʊ/ US

Rhymes with -əʊləʊ

Where it comes from

An acronym of be on the lookout.

noun bolos · BOLO

  1. US A request for law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for a suspect.

    Similar: all-points bulletin, APB

BOLO⁵

  • /ˈboʊ.loʊ/ US

Sounds like bolo · Rhymes with -əʊləʊ

Where it comes from

Acronym of be on the lookout.

noun BOLOs · BOL · bolo

  1. US, abbreviation, acronym A broadcast issued from a law enforcement agency to others, typically containing information about a wanted suspect, a person of interest, or a related vehicle. William Davis Jr. admitted he had been drinking and driving, but he said he shouldn’t have been caught. Even though police had issued a BOLO or “be on the lookout” for his car and an officer testified Davis made several traffic violations, he said there wasn’t enough probable cause for the initial t

    Similar: all-points bulletin, APB

Bolo⁶

proper noun

  1. A barangay of Roxas, Capiz, Philippines.

noun Bolos

  1. abbreviation, clipping Clipping of Bolshevik [G]round strafing, however, was as exciting as in France, particularly when it was carried out dozens of miles behind the Bolo lines.

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Cite this
MLA

"bolo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bolo. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

bolo. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bolo

Chicago

"bolo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bolo.

BibTeX
@misc{bolo_2026,
  title = {bolo},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bolo},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}