bolting 1 of 2

adjective

as in rushing

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bolting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bolt
1
as in jumping
to move suddenly and sharply (as in surprise) I bolted as I read the winning lottery numbers

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2
as in racing
to proceed or move quickly the cat bolted for the food dish the minute he spied it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in retreating
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening the rabbit bolted when it saw the fox approaching

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4
as in exclaiming
to utter with a sudden burst of strong feeling bolted out the cuss word without thinking

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5
as in inhaling
to swallow or eat greedily the way you bolted those hot dogs, it's no wonder you're feeling a little queasy

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bolting
Verb
Captured on video surveillance cameras, the three thieves were seen grabbing hundreds of trading cards and bolting from the shop in less than 10 minutes. — ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026 Instead of bolting off the line when the gun sounded, Garret, Retzlaff and about a dozen other girls walked a few meters and then left the course, while the male athlete took off. — Ryan Canfield Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026 Dyson built the CameraJet around 16 million lines of code and a model trained on 470,000 dental images, bolting a camera, pump, fluid system and software onto a device people have historically cleaned with nylon bristles. — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026 Now every SaaS company that spent the last three years bolting AI features onto legacy infrastructure just got very expensive news. — Rafael Flores, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026 San Francisco is still bolting new pieces together, including fitting Mike Evans into the offense on the fly. — Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 Involves engineering hurdles Building solar farms on open water involves far more engineering hurdles than bolting panels onto dry land. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026 Another common problem is bolting if carrots are planted during periods of high temperatures and long days. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 Aug. 2026 Very hot weather encourages bolting, or the production of flowers and eventually seeds, which can draw energy away from leaf production. — Alexandra Jones, The Spruce, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bolting
  1. rapid
  2. jumping
  3. racing
  4. retreating
  5. exclaiming
  6. inhaling
  7. running
  8. hurrying
Adjective
  • This is the experience of some students in the state and it is being further complicated by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, rising college costs and limited exposure to jobs before graduation.
    — P.R. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Their operational training regularly includes rapid rope insertions from heights of 100 feet or more.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of rapid
Verb
  • We were all riveted by the image of a glass of red wine undisturbed by a woman jumping next to it on the bed and the idea of sleeping on memory foam originally developed by NASA, now available to us.
    — Jaklin Romine Oct. 15, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Shares are jumping Thursday as part of the market’s rotation into defensive names.
    — Alexa LoMonaco,Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of jumping
Verb
  • While an ordinary walk might leave her mind racing toward work, looking for a particular color gave it something else to do, effectively putting all that other mental chatter on mute.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Together, the symbols represent more than 280 years of racing history and state pride, officials say.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of racing
Verb
  • The pope paused for a moment and waved to the crowd before retreating into his apartment in the Apostolic Palace.
    — Colleen Barry, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • In a world riven by democratic backsliding and polluted with AI slop, there’s something seductive about the idea of retreating to a wild, unnavigable place where no one can follow you—because you’ll be submerged up to your eyeballs.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of retreating
Verb
  • Lyra donned her purple-and-pink mask, exclaiming at the colorful angelfish darting between her legs.
    — Brianna Randall, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
  • On a street by the harbor, crowds of people were squinting into the distance, exclaiming every time the whale exhaled.
    — Jessica Camille Aguirre, New Yorker, 2 May 2026
Definition of exclaiming
Verb
  • But some people abuse it by inhaling it to feel relaxed or euphoric.
    — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Tottenham attempted to offload Bissouma last summer, and the club later initiated another internal investigation after an image leaked of Bissouma inhaling nitrous oxide from a balloon again.
    — Colin Millar, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of inhaling
Adjective
  • But some of that is surely on the fact the Browns offensive line has been inconsistent, coach Todd Monken's offense is a work in progress and the running game is middling.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The running game in Kansas City is a lot better than people are giving it credit for.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of running
Verb
  • Before hurrying away from his tent on the beach, Saleh was asked what would happen if US support never came.
    — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Corle continued flagging and minutes later McCoy was back on the trail, hurrying to catch up.
    — Jan Thacker, Outdoor Life, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of hurrying

Browse Nearby Words

bolt-holes
bolting
bolts
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Cite this Entry

“Bolting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bolting. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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