1. [n]  the act of delivering a blow with the foot; "he gave the ball a powerful kick"; "the team's kicking was excellent"
2. [n]  footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
3. [n]  an instrument of torture that is used to crush the foot and leg
4. [n]  protective casing for something that resembles a leg
5. [n]  compartment in an automobile that carries luggage or shopping or tools (`boot' is British usage)
6. [n]  the swift release of a store of affective force; "they got a great bang out of it"; "what a rush!"; "he does it for kicks"
7. [v]  cause to load (an operating system) and start the initial processes; "boot your computer"
8. [v]  kick; give a boot to

Boot
It`s America`s toughest Boot Camp, 88 days of drills, inspections, rifle practices, war games, grueling physical exercise and a regimen that separates the men from the boys. Boot gives the inside story of basic training in the Marines, America`s fiercest fighting force. Martin`s.

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1. \Boot\ (b[=oo]t), n. [OE. bot, bote, advantage, amends,
   cure, AS. b[=o]t; akin to Icel. b[=o]t, Sw. bot, Dan. bod,
   Goth. b[=o]ta, D. boete, G. busse; prop., a making good or
   better, from the root of E. better, adj. [root]255.]
   1. Remedy; relief; amends; reparation; hence, one who brings
      relief.
            He gaf the sike man his boote.        --Chaucer.
            Thou art boot for many a bruise And healest many a
            wound.                                --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
            Next her Son, our soul's best boot.   --Wordsworth.
   2. That which is given to make an exchange equal, or to make
      up for the deficiency of value in one of the things
      exchanged.
            I'll give you boot, I'll give you three for one.
                                                  --Shak.
   3. Profit; gain; advantage; use. [Obs.]
            Then talk no more of flight, it is no boot. --Shak.
   {To boot}, in addition; over and above; besides; as a
      compensation for the difference of value between things
      bartered.
            Helen, to change, would give an eye to boot. --Shak.
            A man's heaviness is refreshed long before he comes
            to drunkenness, for when he arrives thither he hath
            but changed his heaviness, and taken a crime to
            boot.                                 --Jer. Taylor.
   

2. \Boot\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Booted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Booting}.]
   1. To profit; to advantage; to avail; -- generally followed
      by it; as, what boots it?
            What booteth it to others that we wish them well,
            and do nothing for them?              --Hooker.
            What subdued To change like this a mind so far
            imbued With scorn of man, it little boots to know.
                                                  --Byron.
            What boots to us your victories?      --Southey.
   2. To enrich; to benefit; to give in addition. [Obs.]
            And I will boot thee with what gift beside Thy
            modesty can beg.                      --Shak.
   

3. \Boot\, n. [OE. bote, OF. bote, F. botte, LL. botta; of
   uncertain origin.]
   1. A covering for the foot and lower part of the leg,
      ordinarily made of leather.
   2. An instrument of torture for the leg, formerly used to
      extort confessions, particularly in Scotland.
            So he was put to the torture, which in Scotland they
            call the boots; for they put a pair of iron boots
            close on the leg, and drive wedges between them and
            the leg.                              --Bp. Burnet.
   3. A place at the side of a coach, where attendants rode;
      also, a low outside place before and behind the body of
      the coach. [Obs.]
   4. A place for baggage at either end of an old-fashioned
      stagecoach.
   5. An apron or cover (of leather or rubber cloth) for the
      driving seat of a vehicle, to protect from rain and mud.
   6. (Plumbing) The metal casing and flange fitted about a pipe
      where it passes through a roof.
   {Boot catcher}, the person at an inn whose business it was to
      pull off boots and clean them. [Obs.] --Swift.
   {Boot closer}, one who, or that which, sews the uppers of
      boots.
   {Boot crimp}, a frame or device used by bootmakers for
      drawing and shaping the body of a boot.
   {Boot hook}, a hook with a handle, used for pulling on boots.
   {Boots and saddles} (Cavalry Tactics), the trumpet call which
      is the first signal for mounted drill.
   {Sly boots}. See {Slyboots}, in the Vocabulary.
   

4. \Boot\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Booted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Booting}.]
   1. To put boots on, esp. for riding.
            Coated and booted for it.             --B. Jonson.
   2. To punish by kicking with a booted foot. [U. S.]
   

5. \Boot\, v. i.
   To boot one's self; to put on one's boots.
   

6. \Boot\, n.
   Booty; spoil. [Obs. or R.] --Shak.
   

(from "bootstrap" or "to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps") To load and initialise the operating system on a computer.

See reboot, cold boot, warm boot, soft boot, hard boot, bootstrap, bootstrap loader.

[Jargon File]