Meaning & use
boot off
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveinformal
To force someone to leave a place, group, or system, often suddenly.
Grammar: Transitive and separable: boot someone off (something). Often used with 'from' or 'out of'.
Patterns
- boot someone off something
- boot someone off a team
- boot someone off a website
The moderator booted him off the forum for breaking the rules.
They booted the player off the team after the scandal.
She was booted off the project for missing too many deadlines.
verbtransitive or intransitivecomputinginformal
To start a computer or device by loading the operating system, especially after shutting it down.
Grammar: Can be used with an object (boot off the computer) or without (the computer booted off). More common in technical contexts.
Patterns
- boot off a computer
- boot off the system
- boot off from a disk
He booted off the computer and waited for it to restart.
The server failed to boot off after the power outage.
You can boot off a USB drive to install a new operating system.
Word forms
| third person singular | boots off |
|---|---|
| past tense | booted off |
| past participle | booted off |
| -ing form | booting off |
Common combinations
- boot someone off a team
- The coach booted him off the team for bad behavior.
- boot someone off a website
- The admin booted the troll off the website.
- boot off a computer
- She booted off the computer and left the room.
- get booted off
- He got booted off the show after one episode.
Synonyms and how they differ
- kick off
- Kick off is very similar but often more forceful or abrupt; boot off is slightly more informal and often used for online or team removal.
- expel
- Expel is formal and used for official removal from a school or country; boot off is informal and casual.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: boot off or boot up?
boot off vs boot up
Boot up means to start a computer; boot off means to force someone out or to start a computer after shutdown. They are not interchangeable.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'boot off' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Boot off' means to force someone to leave, so 'booted him off the project' fits. Option 1 uses 'boot off' for removing shoes, which is not standard; option 3 confuses it with 'kick'; option 4 is nonsense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “boot off”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.