[bəʊlt], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a bar that slides into a socket to fasten a door or window

- a short, heavy arrow shot from a crossbow

- a jagged white flash of lightning


Phrases:
- a bolt from the blue
- bolt upright
- have shot one's bolt

Origin:
Old English, ‘arrow’, of unknown origin; related to Dutch bout and German Bolzen ‘arrow, bolt for a door’

[bəʊlt], (Verb)

Definitions:
- fasten (a door or window) with a bar that slides into a socket
(e.g: all the doors were locked and bolted)


Phrases:
- a bolt from the blue
- bolt upright
- have shot one's bolt

Origin:
Old English, ‘arrow’, of unknown origin; related to Dutch bout and German Bolzen ‘arrow, bolt for a door’

[bəʊlt], (Verb)

Definitions:
- (of a horse or other animal) run away suddenly, typically from fear
(e.g: the horses shied and bolted)

- eat (food) quickly
(e.g: there's no need to bolt your food)


Phrases:
- make a bolt for

Origin:
Middle English: from bolt, expressing the sense ‘fly like an arrow’

[bəʊlt], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a roll of fabric, originally as a measure
(e.g: the room was stacked with bolts of cloth)

- a folded edge of a piece of paper that is trimmed off to allow it to be opened, as on a section of a book


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English: transferred use of bolt

[bəʊlt], (Verb)

Definitions:
- pass (flour, powder, or other material) through a sieve


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English: from Old French bulter, of unknown ultimate origin. The change in the first syllable was due to association with bolt