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bootstrap

/ˈbuːtˌstɹæp/noun, verb

bootstrap is spelled B-O-O-T-S-T-R-A-P: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bootstrap means “A loop (leather or other material) sewn at the side or top rear of a boot to help in pulling the boot on” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bootstrap is bootstraps.

How many letters and syllables are in bootstrap?

Letters9: B-O-O-T-S-T-R-A-P
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is bootstrap?

Bootstrap appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce bootstrap?

  • /ˈbuːtˌstɹæp/

Bootstrap has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-bootstrap.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of bootstrap

  • bootstraps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • bootstrapping participle, present
  • bootstrapped participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does bootstrap mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 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. 2

    A means of advancing oneself or accomplishing something without aid.

    He used his business experience as a bootstrap to win voters.

  3. 3

    The process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory.

  4. 4

    The process necessary to compile the tools that will be used to compile the rest of the system or program.

  5. 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.

verb

  1. 1

    To help (oneself) without the aid of others.

    Sam spent years bootstrapping himself through college.

  2. 2

    To load the operating system into the memory of a computer. Usually shortened to boot.

  3. 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.

  4. 4

    To build or put together (something) by first building or putting together the tools, building blocks, ideas, etc., necessary to build (the thing).

  5. 5

    To employ a bootstrap method.

  6. 6

    To expand or advance an activity or a collection based solely on previous actions, work, findings, etc.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Bootstrap in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchlanguette, tirant (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling…), tremplin (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing…), amorçage (the process by which the operating system of a…), se débrouiller (to help (oneself) without the aid of others)
GermanStiefelriemen, Schuhriemen, Stiefelschlaufe, Stiefelstrippe (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling…), Hilfsmittel, Selbsthilfe (a means of advancing oneself or accomplishing…)
Spanishlengüeta (a loop at the top of a boot to help in pulling…), arranque (the process by which the operating system of a…), arreglárselas, arreglárselas solo (to help (oneself) without the aid of others)
Portuguesearranque (the process by which the operating system of a…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does bootstrap come from?

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

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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