boycott
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to refuse to buy something or take part in an activity to show that you disagree with a company or government.
v.to abstain from using, buying, or dealing with an organisation or country as an expression of protest. Transitive; requires a direct object representing the entity being avoided.
Simple“Many people decided to boycott the clothing brand after learning about its poor factory conditions.”
In context“Environmental activists urged the public to boycott the energy conglomerate until it committed to a verifiable carbon-reduction strategy.”
UsageAlways used with a direct object; you boycott a company, a product, or an event.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.an organised effort where people stop buying or using something to force a change.
n.the act or an instance of boycotting a particular entity or product. Countable; often used with the definite article or in the plural.
Simple“The bus boycott lasted for over a year and eventually led to a change in the law.”
In context“The international boycott of the regime's exports significantly weakened its economic standing and forced a return to the negotiating table.”
Teacher's tipRemind students that the word comes from Captain Boycott, a 19th-century land agent who was the first famous target of this tactic.
Etymology tree English Charles Boycott English boycott From Charles Boycott, an English evicting land agent in Ireland who was subject to a boycott organized by the Irish Land League in 1880. For the surname see Boycott.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.