Boon Meaning
/buːn/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA good thing; a thing to be thankful for or to appreciate duly.
nounThat which is asked or granted as a benefit or favor; a gift or benefaction.
Sentence Examples
This dictionary is great boon up to us.
The talented comedian Danny Boon is a Kabyle.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The unexpected grant was a tremendous financial ____ for the struggling charity.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new highway was a major ____ for the local businesses today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English boon (“prayer”), from Old Norse bón (“prayer, petition”), from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”), influenced by boon (“good, favorable”, adjective). Doublet of ben; see there for more.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Diggle Station lies high up in the Pennine Chain, subject to extreme low temperatures. With this and heavy snowfall in the winter months, Diggle bids fair to compete with the Scottish lines under similar weather conditions, and the provision of unfrozen water in the higher ambient temperature of the tunnel must be a boon to harassed engine drivers whose thirsty steeds run short of water up the gruelling 1 in 125 seven-mile climb from Stalybridge."
— 1959 February 26, “Letters to the Editor: Diggle Water Troughs”, in Railway Magazine, page 135:
"Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. […] A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale."
— 2013 July–August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 4, archived from the original on 07 Sep 2013:
"Supporters of the measure, which Parliament is expected to vote on next Monday, present it as a boon for democracy: a modest limit on the ways in which an elected government can be stymied by unelected judges, who will in any case still have other tools to overrule ministers."
— 2023 July 21, Patrick Kingsley, “What’s Reasonable? A Debate Over a High Court’s Reach Divides Israel.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Jul 2023:
"President Joe Biden has declared - approvingly - that a “long war” is ahead between Israel and Hamas. Washington seems to relish long wars, which always prove a boon to its arms industries and a distraction from domestic troubles."
— 2023 October 11, Jonathan Cook, “Israel-Palestine war: The blood of Gaza is on the West’s hands as much as Israel’s”, in Middle East Eye:
"I gave you life. Can you not return the boon by giving me death, my lord?"
— 1871, James De Mille, The Cryptogram, New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC, page 194, column 2:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The unexpected grant was a tremendous financial ____ for the struggling charity.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The new highway was a major ____ for the local businesses today.