bolt

CEFRB2

/bɒlt/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A sudden run away or a metal fastener.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Latch-related senses, A sliding pin or bar in a lock or latch mechanism.

Examples

  • The news hit me like a bolt from the blue.

  • A fool's bolt is soon shot.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • [bɔʊɫt]
  • /boʊlt/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. 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.

  2. Latch-related senses

  3. A sliding pin or bar in a lock or latch mechanism.

More examples

In context

  • He had seen lightning bolts yesterday night.

  • The problem's solution struck him like a bolt from the blue.

  • The horse made a bolt.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

When the thunder clapped loudly, the frightened horse began to blank across the field.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.