boasts

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of boast.

   She boasts about her promotion to anyone who will listen.

   The coastal town boasts some of the finest seafood in the region.

   Note

   The present-tense form splits on its construction. With about or of, someone is bragging: she boasts of her promotion. With a direct object and no preposition, a place or thing simply has something fine, as in the town boasts a harbor. That second use praises without any speaker doing the praising. A rarer craft use also exists: a stone is boasted when it is dressed with a broad chisel.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of boast.

   The team's loud boasts before the match made the loss even more embarrassing.

   Her boasts about the deal proved to be nothing more than wishful thinking.

   Note

   A plural that can count three different things: the brags themselves, the things a person is proud enough to brag about, and shots in which the ball is driven off a side wall before it strikes the front wall. The first two blur easily, because a team's boasts may be its loud claims or the record it is proud of, so context decides. The bragging kind is often followed by about, as in boasts about the deal.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2