Meaning & use
bootcut
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Describing pants or jeans that are close-fitting at the top and widen slightly below the knee.
Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes: bootcut jeans, a bootcut style.
Patterns
- bootcut jeans
- bootcut pants
- a bootcut style
She wore bootcut jeans with a plain white shirt.
Bootcut pants are roomy enough to sit over a pair of boots.
The store sells skinny, straight and bootcut styles.
nouncountableinformal
A style of pants that fits closely on the thigh and flares out gently at the bottom.
Grammar: Often used in the plural as 'bootcuts' to mean one or more pairs of this style.
Patterns
- a pair of bootcuts
- wear bootcuts
He prefers bootcuts to skinny jeans.
I bought a pair of black bootcuts for work.
Word forms
| plural | bootcuts |
|---|
Common combinations
- bootcut jeans
- Bootcut jeans look good with heels or boots.
- bootcut pants
- These bootcut pants come in three colors.
- a bootcut leg
- The bootcut leg gives a slightly flared shape.
- slim bootcut
- She likes a slim bootcut that is not too wide.
- bootcut style
- The bootcut style was very popular in the 1990s.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flared
- Flared means the leg widens much more, often from the knee down, so it is a stronger shape than bootcut.
- straight-leg
- Straight-leg pants stay the same width all the way down, while bootcut widens a little at the bottom.
Opposites
Word family
- bootcut jeans noun
- Jeans with a bootcut shape.
Commonly confused: bootcut or flare?
bootcut vs flare
A flare is a much wider opening at the bottom of the leg; bootcut is only a slight widening.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bootcut' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Bootcut' is an adjective describing a style of pants, so it fits before a noun like 'jeans'. The other options use it as a verb or noun in ways that are not natural English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bootcut”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.