bolt
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bolt¹
- /bɒlt/ UK
- /bəʊlt/ UK
- [bɔʊɫt] UK
- /boʊlt/ US
Rhymes with -əʊlt, -ɒlt
Where it comes from
From Middle English bolt, from Old English bolt, from Proto-West Germanic *bolt, from Proto-Germanic *bultaz, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeld- (“to knock, strike”). Compare Lithuanian beldu (“I knock”), baldas (“pole for striking”). Akin to Dutch and West Frisian bout, German Bolz or Bolzen, Danish bolt, Swedish bult, Icelandic bolti.
The association of thunder and lightning with 'bolts' is found back into prehistory in many cultures, at least in Eurasia. It comes from the long-standing widespread belief that lightning was caused by bolts, darts, or stones hurtling down from the sky to the earth. This belief was still regarded as commonplace until at least 1929.
noun bolts
- 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.
- A sliding pin or bar in a lock or latch mechanism. There was the noise of a bolt shot back, and the door opened a few inches, enough to show a long snout and a pair of sleepy blinking eyes.
- 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.
- A sliding mechanism to chamber and unchamber a cartridge in a firearm.
- An iron to fasten the legs of a prisoner; a shackle; a fetter. He shall to prison, and there die in boults.
- A stalk or scape (of garlic, onion, etc). All kinds of vegetables may be used as a topping, but the best are strongly flavoured ones without too much moisture, such as celery, garlic bolts, chives, scallions, or various beans (long beans, green beans etc.) ...
- A large roll of fabric or similar material, as a bolt of cloth. Mr. Cole, Basket-maker...has lost near 300 boults of rods
- The standard linear measurement of canvas for use at sea: 39 yards.
- 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.
-
A lightning spark, i.e., a lightning bolt. (See thunderbolt.)
He had seen lightning bolts yesterday night.
Similar: flash
- A sudden event, action or emotion. The problem's solution struck him like a bolt from the blue.
- A sudden spring or start; a sudden leap aside. The horse made a bolt.
- A sudden flight, as to escape creditors. This gentleman was so hopelessly involved that he contemplated a bolt to America — or anywhere.
- A refusal to support a nomination made by the party with which one has been connected; a breaking away from one's party.
- A burst of speed or efficiency. In the event they lacked a proper midfield bolt, with Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira huffing around in pursuit of the whizzing green machine. The centre-backs looked flustered, left to deal with three on two as Mexico broke. Löw’s 4-2-3-1 seemed antiquated and creaky, with the old World Cup shark Thoma
verb bolts · bolting · bolted
- To connect or assemble pieces using a bolt. Bolt the vice to the bench.
- To affix in a crude or unnatural manner. Most languages are *not* based on C++. C++ is a complicated mess. It's C with object oriented features bolted on as an afterthought and no-one in their right mind would want to base another language on it.
- To secure a bolt or bolts; to lock using a bolt. Bolt the door.
- To flee, to depart, to accelerate away suddenly. Seeing the snake, the horse bolted.
- To escape.
- To cause to start or spring forth; to dislodge (an animal being hunted). to bolt a rabbit
- To strike or fall suddenly like a bolt. His cloudleſs thunder bolted on thir heads.
- To produce flower stalks and flowers or seeds quickly or prematurely; to form a bolt (stalk or scape); to go to seed. Lettuce and spinach will bolt as the weather warms up.
- To swallow food without chewing it. Though amid all the smoking horror and diabolism of a sea-fight, sharks will be seen longingly gazing up to the ship’s decks, like hungry dogs round a table where red meat is being carved, ready to bolt down every killed man that is tossed to them;
- To drink one's drink very quickly; to down a drink. Come on, everyone, bolt your drinks; I want to go to the next pub!
- To refuse to support a nomination made by a party or caucus with which one has been connected; to break away from a party. John Silber charged that people who bolted the Democratic Party in this election are "Kamakaze ^([sic]) liberals", beneath contempt and clearly too stupid to deserve to vote.
- To utter precipitately; to blurt or throw out. I hate when vice can bolt her arguments.
adverb
- Suddenly; straight; unbendingly. The soldiers stood bolt upright for inspection.
bolt²
- /bɒlt/ UK
- /bəʊlt/ UK
- [bɔʊɫt] UK
- /boʊlt/ US
Rhymes with -əʊlt, -ɒlt
Where it comes from
From Middle English bulten, from Anglo-Norman buleter, Old French bulter (modern French bluter), from a Germanic source originally meaning "bag, pouch" cognate with Middle High German biuteln (“to sift”), from Proto-Germanic *buzdô (“beetle, grub, swelling”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰūs- (“to move quickly”). Cognate with Dutch buidel.
verb bolts · bolting · bolted
- To sift, especially through a cloth.
- To sift the bran and germ from wheat flour. Graham flour is unbolted flour; in contrast, some other flours have been bolted.
- To separate, assort, refine, or purify by other means. ill schooled in bolted language
- To discuss or argue privately, and for practice, as cases at law. […]the old habits of mooting or bolting caſes (i.e. of public disputations), might make the ſtudent more ſubtle and acute
noun bolts
- A sieve, especially a long fine sieve used in milling for bolting flour and meal; a bolter. The combination, in a flour bolt, of a reel head having a throat near its outer edge for the passage of the tailings and a series of revolving adjustable beaters, substantially as set forth.
Bolt³
Where it comes from
* As an English surname, from the noun bolt, for a maker of bolts, or a nickname for a short and heavy person.
* Also as an English surname, variant of Bold.
* As a Dutch, north/Low German and Danish surname, from the old Germanic name Baldo, derived from the adjective bold and related to the above. Compare Boldt.
proper noun Bolts
- A surname transferred from the nickname.
- A census-designated place in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, named after an early postmaster.
- An unincorporated community in the town of Franklin, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: deadbolt, thunderbolt, run out, slap, smack, bang, gobble, go off, absquatulate, run off, decamp, abscond, slapdash, dash, stiffly, rigidly
Translations
Every language
noun short, stout, blunt-headed arrow
| Español | virote |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 弩箭 nǔjiàn |
| हिन्दी | बाण bāṇ |
| Português | virote |
| Français | carreau |
| Deutsch | Bolzen, kurzer Pfeil |
| Русский | арбале́тная стрела́ arbalétnaja strelá |
noun large roll of material
| Español | rollo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 反物 tanmono |
| 中文 | 匹 pǐ |
| Português | rolo |
| Français | rouleau |
| Deutsch | Ballen, Rolle |
| Italiano | rotolo |
| Русский | руло́н rulón |
| עברית | גְּלִילָה glilah |
noun metal fastener
| Español | tornillo, bulón, perno |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 볼트 bolteu |
| 日本語 | ボルト boruto |
| 中文 | 螺栓 luóshuān |
| हिन्दी | बोल्ट bolṭ, पेंच pẽc |
| Kiswahili | bolti |
| Português | parafuso |
| Français | boulon, vis |
| Deutsch | Schraube, Bolzen, Schraubbolzen, Bohrhaken |
| Italiano | bullone |
| Română | bolț |
| Русский | болт bolt, винт vint |
| Tiếng Việt | bu lông |
| العربية | مِصْمَال miṣmāl |
| עברית | בורג \ בֹּרֶג bóreg |
noun sliding pin or bar in a lock
| Español | cerrojo, falleba, tranquilla, pasador, aldabilla, trinquete |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 門栓 /门栓 ménshuān |
| हिन्दी | सिटकनी siṭaknī |
| Português | trinco, ferrolho, tranca |
| Français | verrou |
| Deutsch | Riegel, Bolzen, Falle, Dorn, Schuber |
| Italiano | chiavistello, barilotto, rocchetto |
| Русский | засо́в zasóv, задви́жка zadvížka |
noun bar to prevent a door from being forced open
| Español | tranca, cerrojo, pestillo |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 門栓 /门栓 ménshuān |
| Português | barra, tranca |
| Français | verrou |
| Deutsch | Riegel |
| Italiano | chiavistello |
| Ελληνικά | σύρτης sýrtis |
| Русский | засо́в zasóv |
noun sliding mechanism to chamber and unchamber a cartridge in a firearm
| 中文 | 螺栓 luóshuān |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Schloß |
| Italiano | otturatore |
| Ελληνικά | κλείστρο kleístro |
| Русский | затво́р zatvór |
noun iron to fasten the legs of a prisoner; a shackle; a fetter
| Español | esposas, cadenas, grillete |
|---|---|
| Português | grilhão |
| Deutsch | Fußeisen |
noun standard measure of length of canvas
| 中文 | 捲 /卷 juǎn |
|---|
noun lightning spark
| Español | chispa, rayo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 落雷 rakurai, 稲妻 inazuma, 金剛 kongō |
| 中文 | 閃電 /闪电 shǎndiàn |
| हिन्दी | बिजली bijlī |
| Português | relâmpago, faísca |
| Français | éclair |
| Deutsch | Blitz, Blitzschlag, Donnerkeil, Strahl |
| Italiano | fulmine, saetta |
| Русский | мо́лния mólnija |
noun sudden flight, as to escape creditors
| Deutsch | Sprung |
|---|
verb to connect pieces using a bolt
| Español | atornillar |
|---|---|
| Português | aparafusar |
| Français | boulonner |
| Deutsch | anschrauben, zusammenschrauben, verschrauben, verbolzen |
| Italiano | serrare, imbullonare |
| Русский | скрепи́ть skrepítʹ, приви́нчивать privínčivatʹ, привинти́ть privintítʹ |
| עברית | הבריג hivríg |
verb to secure a door
| Español | trancar |
|---|---|
| Português | trancar |
| Deutsch | verriegeln, zuriegeln, abriegeln |
| Italiano | sprangare |
| Ελληνικά | αμπαρώνω amparóno |
verb to accelerate suddenly
| Español | salir disparado |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | wegspringen, davonspringen, springen, zurückspringen, durchgehen, stürzen |
| Русский | давать дёра davatʹ djóra, дать дёра datʹ djóra |
verb to escape
| Français | s’échapper, s’enfuir |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | entkommen, davonspringen, davonjagen, fliehen, davonstürzen, wegrennen |
| Italiano | scappare, fuggire |
| Ελληνικά | αποδιδράσκω apodidrásko, δραπετεύω drapetévo |
verb to swallow food without chewing
| Deutsch | schlingen, verschlingen, hinunterschlingen |
|---|---|
| Italiano | inghiottire, trangugiare |
verb of a plant, to grow quickly
| Français | monter en graine, monter |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | schießen, in die Höhe schießen |
Talk about this word "bolt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bolt. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bolt. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bolt "bolt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bolt.Cite this
@misc{bolt_2026,
title = {bolt},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bolt},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
