I. ˈbōst noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English boost, bost; probably akin to Old English bȳl boil, Old High German bōsi bad, Middle High German būsch cudgel, Old Norse beysti ham, Norwegian dialect bugge important man, Greek phōides blisters (plural), Sanskrit bhūri abundant; basic meaning: to swell, inflate
1. : the act of boasting or an instance of boasting : vaunt , brag
the man's constant boast was that he had an infallible memory for names
2. : a cause of boasting : a reason for pride
the university's boast was its high standard of scholarship
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English bosten, probably from boost, bost, n.
intransitive verb
1. : to say or tell something intended to give others a high opinion of one : brag : puff oneself up in speech : vaunt oneself
boast of her accomplishments or family line
2. archaic : glory , exult
in God we have boasted continually — Ps 44:8 (Revised Standard Version)
transitive verb
1.
a. : to speak of or assert boastfully or in an excessively prideful manner
boast that you have been in every state of the union
boast their skill at tennis
b. : to proclaim (oneself) boastfully
boast myself a patriot
boast himself to be a better man than his neighbor
2. now Scotland : threaten
3. obsolete : to display pridefully or vaingloriously
4.
a. : to possess usually conspicuously something one is proud of
the city boasts a campanile and a new city hall
b. : have , possess
the office boasts only one desk
Synonyms:
boast , brag , vaunt , crow , gasconade signify, in common, to give oral expression to one's pride in oneself or in something produced by, belonging to, or related to oneself, as one's family, connections, race, or accomplishments. Although boast means commonly to claim with a certain pride
the town boasts an excellent school system
it can also point to a self-pride often to the point of conceit, ostentation, or exaggeration
childishly anxious to boast that he had walked the whole of the six or seven miles — Compton Mackenzie
boast of past triumphs long forgotten
annoy the company with an incessant boasting of one's wealth and position
brag , more common in speech than boast , suggests a crude self-glorification
a bragging politician
brag of one's importance to the community
vaunt , more literary than brag or boast , implies more pomp and bombast than boast and less crudity than brag
a poem … in which a peasant sings octaves vaunting the beauty of the beloved — R.A.Hall b. 1911
pamphlets vaunting the region's unique opportunities — American Guide Series: Minnesota
ashamed of vaunting ourselves to claim credit where credit is due — Robert Moses
crow , most common in speech, is more contemptuous than the others, suggesting an exultant but petty and unbecoming boasting or blatant bragging especially over an opponent regarded as defeated in some way
the barrister crowed with triumph but the professor was in no way put out — Cyril Kersh
boasted, gloated, and crowed — W.E.Buckler
advocates of the plane against the capital ship crowed, “I told you so” — J.P.Baxter b.1893
gasconade , a rare term, implies an habitual and extravagant self-glorification
an enlightened statesman, and not a gasconading militarist — C.G.Bowers
the horn, intended for who knows what sonorous gasconading, uttering instead a few piteous bleats — New Yorker
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: origin unknown
1. : to shape (stone) roughly with a broad chisel in sculpture and stonecutting in preparation for finer work to follow
2. : to finish (the face of a building stone) by making or cutting several cross rows of parallel corrugations
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably modification of French bosse protuberance, place where the ball hits the wall when boasted, from Old French boce — more at boss
1. court tennis or squash : to return in play by striking (the ball) against either of the side walls or against the end wall on the striker's side
2. : to make (a stroke) in boasting
V. noun
( -s )
: the stroke made in boasting in court tennis or squash