Bootlicker Definition & Meaning

Definition

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms bootlicker American [boot-lik-er] / ˈbutˌlɪk ər /

noun

1. someone who seeks favor or goodwill in a servile, degraded way; toady.

   He comes across as a facile bootlicker, someone who would do anything like a lapdog to please somebody in the chain of command.

Etymology

Origin of bootlicker

boot 1 ( def. ) + lick ( def. ) + -er 1 ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We need less "how dare they" and more "ha ha people who give in are sad bootlickers."

From Salon

Now he brings an increasingly obnoxious entourage of bootlickers with him every day.

From Salon

That caught Mr. Lee’s ear: “The suggestion that I’m beholden to either party, that I’ve been a bootlicker for either party, is folly,” he protested.

From New York Times

His name gave us the English word "quisling": it means a lackey, a traitor, a bootlicker.

From BBC

Others took aim at the show’s creator and producer Lorne Michaels, calling him “the undefeated bootlicker” and suggesting that he “needs to retire and NBC needs to clean house completely.”

From Washington Post

Related Words

• adherent
• admirer
• advocate
• backer
• believer
• client
• devotee
• disciple
• fan
• member
• participant
• patron
• supporter
• worshiper

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.