boots

A hotel porter carries a guest's luggage while wearing polished boots.

Definition

1. Noun (plural):
   • Footwear: "boots" refer to a type of shoe that covers the foot and extends up to the ankle, calf, or knee, typically made of leather or rubber and used for protection, warmth, or fashion.
   • A servant in a hotel (chiefly British, historical): "boots" can mean a hotel employee who cleans shoes and carries luggage.

Usage Examples

• Footwear:

  • He wore heavy leather boots for hiking in the mountains. (Sturdy footwear for outdoor activity.)
  • She bought a new pair of rain boots to keep her feet dry. (Waterproof footwear for wet weather.)

• Hotel servant:

  • The boots at the hotel polished all the guests' shoes overnight. (The employee responsible for shoe cleaning.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be in someone's boots": to be in someone else's situation or position.

  • I wouldn't want to be in his boots right now — he's in serious trouble. (I would not want to be in his difficult circumstances.)

• "to die with one's boots on": to die while still active or working, especially in a dangerous occupation.

  • The old cowboy died with his boots on, still riding the range. (He died actively engaged in his work.)

Variants and Related Words

• Boot (n, singular): a single item of the footwear or a kick.

  • He gave the door a boot to open it. (A hard kick.)

• Booted (adj): wearing boots.

  • The booted soldiers marched through the mud. (Soldiers wearing boots.)

Synonyms

• Footwear: waders (for waterproof boots), galoshes (for rubber overshoes), hiking boots (for sturdy outdoor boots).
• Hotel servant: shoe-shine boy, porter (though "porter" carries luggage, while "boots" cleans shoes).

Phrasal Verbs

• Boot up: to start a computer by loading its operating system.

  • I need to boot up my laptop to check my email. (Start the computer.)

• Boot out: to force someone to leave a place or job.

  • The manager booted out the unruly customer. (Expelled the customer.)

Related Idioms

• Pull yourself up by your bootstraps: to improve your situation through your own efforts without help.

  • He came from poverty but pulled himself up by his bootstraps to become a CEO. (He succeeded through self-reliance.)

• Too big for your boots: having an exaggerated sense of one's own importance.

  • Since he got promoted, he's become too big for his boots and ignores old friends. (He is arrogant.)

• Boots on the ground: military personnel actively engaged in a conflict or operation.

  • The general requested more boots on the ground for the mission. (More soldiers deployed.)