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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
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 Above all, embed accuracy into explainability rather than bolting it on afterward. — Sriram Bhargav Madhav, Forbes.com, 17 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 That work is arguably getting harder as chief executives stay in the job longer, causing their possible successors to get restless; some are bolting to jobs elsewhere or retiring themselves. — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026 To save the cost and effort of pumping millions of liters of seawater solely to obtain minerals, the researchers propose bolting modular reactors onto coastal desalination plants, which already move enormous quantities of the stuff. — New Atlas, 27 July 2026 The internet did not unlock productivity until businesses rewired processes around digital workflows rather than bolting websites onto analog operations. — Nigel Vaz, Time, 20 July 2026 Timing your planting to avoid summer heat will prevent bolting. — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 7 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bolting
  1. rapid
  2. jumping
  3. racing
  4. retreating
  5. exclaiming
  6. inhaling
  7. running
  8. hurrying
Adjective
  • Motion Applied brings experience from motorsport, where power electronics face rapid load changes and intense operating conditions.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The fear that rapid technological advances could threaten nuclear stability is not new.
    — Jeffrey Lewis, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of rapid
Verb
  • This can happen by jumping into water, diving, water-skiing or other water activities.
    — Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Sharks attacking fish, Spider-Man jumping off of a building, Ja Morant putting a poor man on a poster, fighter jets, and Chris Gotterup hitting golf balls; also known as the good stuff.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of jumping
Verb
  • The core experience for me is being in the car, just having a good time, feeling the downforce, feeling the Gs, hearing the sound, and racing the car on a track.
    — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Interoception shifts focus away from racing thoughts and back into physical sensations.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of racing
Verb
  • Stepping into the public sphere rather than retreating became both a survival strategy and a refuge—an assertion of political and artistic self-determination.
    — Elisa R. Linn, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The player reported that the man had opened a knife and moved toward him before retreating into his room.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 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
  • And in the summer working, caring for the garden, cultivating my plants, my food, inhaling the sun, seeing my skin become brown just as the flowers are also growing their colours, and my beloved garden plants are delivering their brilliant food.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026
  • More studies are showing the wide-ranging negative health impacts of inhaling wildfire smoke, which is especially toxic when blazes tear through urban areas and burn up household appliances, batteries and chemicals.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of inhaling
Adjective
  • Ultimately, the offense’s success will come down to the running game.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Jamal Roberts led the running game with 47 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
    — PJ Green September 4, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of running
Verb
  • That’s how Drake Maye ended his latest two-minute drill at Patriots training camp Monday, a meandering march that began around midfield and ended with Maye hurrying the offense to the 3-yard line with 10 seconds on the clock.
    — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Set over the course of eight years (including the lockdown period during COVID), Herry’s film unfolds fluidly, neither hurrying scenes up unnecessarily, nor lingering too long on any incident.
    — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 17 May 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 5 Sep. 2026.

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