# boast

Pronunciation: say "BOHST" US /boʊst/, UK /bəʊst/

## Verb

1. To talk loudly and proudly about oneself in order to impress others.
   - Simple: To talk in a proud way about yourself, often far too much.
   - _Some players boast after every point they win._
   - _She rarely boasts, even when she has every reason to be proud._
2. To possess a special and desirable quality or feature worth taking pride in.
   - Simple: To have a good feature that something can be proud of.
   - _The small town boasts the oldest working clock in the region._
   - _Few cars in this price range boast such advanced safety systems._
3. To speak of something with pride or vanity, aiming to win praise for oneself.
   - Simple: To proudly tell people about something good to make yourself look better.
   - _Candidates often boast about their achievements during campaigns._
   - _He boasted of his connections to anyone who would listen._
7. In squash, to play a shot that travels off a side wall before striking the front wall.
   - Simple: In squash, to hit the ball off a side wall so it reaches the front wall.
   - _He boasted off the back wall to recover a ball he could not otherwise reach._
   - _Skilled players boast to disguise their intentions and unbalance opponents._
8. In masonry, to dress the face of a stone with a broad chisel.
   - Simple: In stonework, to shape the face of a stone using a wide chisel.
   - _The mason boasted each block to an even surface before laying it._
   - _On the cathedral repair job, two masons boast the new limestone blocks while a third finishes the edges._
9. To shape something roughly to its general form as preparation for the finer work that follows.
   - Simple: To cut or shape something roughly first, before the careful work.
   - _She boasted the timber to its outline before modeling the fine features._
   - _Most stone carvers boast a block of limestone into the rough mass of the figure before picking up their finer chisels._

## Noun

4. A proud, showy statement in which someone praises oneself.
   - Simple: Proud words you say to praise yourself and show off.
   - _Her promise of victory proved to be an idle boast._
   - _The room fell quiet at his loud boasts of wealth._
5. A thing that someone takes pride in and likes to brag about.
   - Simple: A thing you are proud of and like to show off.
   - _The restored cathedral remains the city's proudest boast._
   - _A perfect safety record was the factory's chief boast._
6. In squash, a shot driven onto a side wall so that it then strikes the front wall.
   - Simple: In squash, a shot that hits a side wall first and then the front wall.
   - _From the back corner she played a tight boast that died near the front wall._
   - _His boast caught the opponent off guard and ended the point._

## Verb

10. To speak of another in exulting language; to glory and rejoice. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To speak with great joy and pride, often about another person.

## Origin

From Middle English bosten, from the noun bost ("boast, glory, arrogance, pride, vanity"), probably of North Germanic origin and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *bausuz ("inflated, swollen, puffed up, proud, arrogant"). It is related to Norwegian baus ("proud, bold"), German böse ("bad, angry"), and Dutch boos ("evil, angry"), and is a possible doublet of boost.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/boast (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).