/ bəʊld; NAmE boʊld/ adjective , noun
■ adjective ( bold·er , bold·est )
1.
( of people or behaviour ) brave and confident; not afraid to say what you feel or to take risks :
It was a bold move on their part to open a business in France.
The wine made him bold enough to approach her.
2.
( of shape, colour, lines, etc. ) that can be easily seen; having a strong clear appearance :
the bold outline of a mountain against the sky
She paints with bold strokes of the brush.
3.
( technical ) ( of printed words or letters ) in a thick, dark type :
Highlight the important words in bold type.
bold lettering
► bold·ly adverb
► bold·ness noun [ U ]
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IDIOMS
- be / make so bold (as to do sth)
- (as) bold as brass
■ noun
(also bold·face / ˈbəʊldfeɪs; NAmE ˈboʊld-/) [ U ] ( technical ) thick, dark type used for printing words or letters :
Headwords are printed in bold .
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English bald , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch boud and to German bald soon.