boast
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to talk with too much pride about your own qualities, possessions, or success.
v.to speak with excessive pride or self-satisfaction about one's achievements or possessions. Often used with the prepositions 'about' or 'of'.
Simple“He likes to boast about how much money he earns at his new job.”
In context“While he didn't explicitly boast of his influence, he made sure to mention his close friendship with the prime minister several times during dinner.”
UsageCommonly followed by 'about' or 'of' when specifying the subject of the pride.
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to have something impressive that you can be proud of.
v.to possess a feature that is a source of pride or a distinct advantage. Transitive; the subject is typically a place or an organization rather than a person.
Simple“The hotel boasts a beautiful view of the mountains from every room.”
In context“The university boasts one of the most comprehensive research libraries in the country, attracting scholars from across the globe.”
Teacher's tipIn this sense, the word is usually positive and formal; it does not imply the 'arrogance' found in the first sense.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a statement in which you express too much pride in yourself.
n.a statement or instance of expressive self-praise or bragging.
Simple“It was no idle boast when she said she could run a marathon in under three hours.”
In context“His claim to have never lost a case was dismissed by his colleagues as a characteristic boast rather than a statement of fact.”
SynonymsbragvauntAntonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
n.a specific type of shot in the game of squash where the ball hits a side wall first.
n.a shot in which the ball is driven against a side wall before reaching the front wall.
Simple“He won the point with a clever boast that caught his opponent off guard.”
In context“The professional player utilised a deceptive three-wall boast to force his opponent into the front corner of the court.”
“Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) , external suggests the capital boasts some of the highest average rents in the country.”
“He had done national service in the Royal Army Medical Corps (1954-56), yet boasted that he refused to sing the national anthem.”
From Middle English bosten, from bost (“boast, glory, noise, arrogance, presumption, pride, vanity”), probably of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *bausuz (“inflated, swollen, puffed up, proud, arrogant, bad”). Cognate with Scots bost, boist (“to threaten, brag, boast”), Anglo-Norman bost (“ostentation”) (from Germanic). Related to Norwegian baus (“proud, bold, daring”), dialectal German baustern (“to swell”), German böse (“evil, bad, angry”), Dutch boos (“evil, wicked, angry”), West Frisian boas (“bad, wicked, angry, shrewd, clever”). Compare also dialectal Norwegian bausta, busta (“to rush onward, make a noise”). Possible doublet of boost. Compare typologically puffy, Russian напы́щенный (napýščennyj), наду́тый (nadútyj).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.