Dictionary

bootstrap en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbuːtˌstɹæp/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From boot + strap. The sense "pull up (without aid)" comes from the phrase pull oneself up by one's bootstraps.

Meanings

1. A loop (leather or other material) sewn at the side or top rear of a boot to help in pulling the boot on.
2. (figuratively) A means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something without aid.
   • He used his business experience as a bootstrap to win voters.
3. The process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory.
4. The process necessary to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program.
5. Any method or instance of estimating properties of an estimator (such as its variance) by measuring those properties when sampling from an approximating distribution.

Forms

Deriveds

bootstrap paradox · bootstrap principle · bootstrappable · bootstrap aggregation · bootstrap model · bootstrapper · bootstrap theory · bootstrap aggregating · pull oneself up by one's bootstraps

Relateds

cold boot · booting

Translations (58)

et alglaadimine (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · is ræsiforrit (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · cs poutko (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · ro bootstrap (butstrap) (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · fi laukaisualusta (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · de Urlader (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · de Hochfahren (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · fi perustyökalujen kääntäminen (the process necessary to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program) · id but (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · de Hilfsmittel (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · de eigene Kraft (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · fi bootstrap-menetelmä (method or instance of estimating properties of an estimator) · fr amorçage (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · eo malvolvo (the process necessary to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program) · eo praŝargo (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · de Selbsthilfe (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · nl laarzentrekker (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · tr çizme bağı (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · nl laarzenstrop (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · nl springplank (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · de Startroutine (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · fi esilatausohjelma (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · de Stiefelriemen (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · nl opstart (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · fi bootstrap (the process necessary to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program) · ca llengüeta (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · es arranque (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · de Startprogramm (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · it tirante (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · es lengüeta (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · de Eigendynamik (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · nl trampoline (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · fr tirant (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · fo stivlastroppur (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · it caricamento (the process necessary to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program) · de Lader (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · eo startigo (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · id inisialisasi (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · pt arranque (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · it linguetta (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · ro limbă de ghete (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · pl rozruch (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · de Schuhriemen (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · fr tremplin (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · el εκκίνηση (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · ru загру́зка (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · fi käynnistyslatain (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · fi saapasraksi (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · ru у́шко (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · de Stiefelschlaufe (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · ro amorsare (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · is stígvélahanki (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · it trampolino (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something) · de Ladeprogramm (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · fr languette (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · ca arrencada (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot) · de Stiefelstrippe (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling it on) · it avvio (the process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory — see also boot)

bootstrap en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈbuːtˌstɹæp/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From boot + strap. The sense "pull up (without aid)" comes from the phrase pull oneself up by one's bootstraps.

Meanings

1. To help (oneself) without the aid of others.
   • I was born into that shitty town, maleness, in the remains of outdated ideals and misplaced machismo and repression and there are some good people stuck living there. They are not in charge. They did not build it. And I don’t feel okay just moving out and saying “fuck y’all — bootstrap your way out or die out, I was never one of you.” I want to make it a better, healthier place—not spend all my time talking about how shitty it is and how anyone who would choose to live there deserves it. 2016 March 11, Jennifer Coates, “I Am A Transwoman. I Am In The Closet. I Am Not Coming Out.”, in Medium:
   • Sam spent years bootstrapping himself through college.
2. To load the operating system into the memory of a computer. Usually shortened to boot.
3. To compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of a system or program.
   • Bootstrapping means building the GNU C Library, GNU Compiler Collection and several other key system programs. Gentoo X86 Handbook
4. (broadly) To build or put together (something) by first building or putting together the tools, building blocks, ideas, etc., necessary to build (the thing).
   • And she finds the plan. She doesn't remember it; she bootstraps it from first principles, in a handful of minutes, just like she's done a hundred times before. 2016 January 1, qntm, “Your Last First Day”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 04 Sep 2024:
5. To employ a bootstrap method.
6. To expand or advance an activity or a collection based solely on previous actions, work, findings, etc.
   • Gradually, more and more terms were discovered, especially as there was a tendency in the literature to list a number of related terms together, thus allowing me to bootstrap new terms found accompanying those originally searched for. 2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide, page 5:

Forms

Relateds

reboot

Translations (16)

ro pornire (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · de alleine zurechtkommen (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · es arreglárselas solo (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · de auf sich selbst gestellt sein (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · cs poradit si (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · cmn 自舉 /自举 (to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program) · nl zichzelfhelpen (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · is sjálfþýða (to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program) · sv starta (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · it cavarsela da solo (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · de sich selbst helfen (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · de selbstständig sein (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · nl zelfredzaam zijn (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · et alglaadima (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · es arreglárselas (to help (oneself) without the aid of others) · fr se débrouiller (to help (oneself) without the aid of others)