boast1
/bəʊst
/verb
1 [reporting verb] Talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one’s achievements, possessions, or abilities: [no object]: she boasted about her many conquests [with clause]: he boasted that he had taken part in the crime [with direct speech]: Ted used to boast ‘I manage ten people.’...
- No aristocrat worth his title would ever have boasted about his wealth and possessions.
- He has done so many successful, remarkable things and he never, ever boasted about them.
- He often boasted about his frequent trips to Paris and always insisted on picking up dinner tabs.
Synonyms
brag, crow, swagger, swank, gloat, show off, blow one's own trumpet, sing one's own praises, congratulate oneself, pat oneself on the back;
exaggerate, overstate;
preen oneself, give oneself airs
informal talk big, blow hard, lay it on thick, shoot one's mouth off
Australian/New Zealand informal skite, big-note oneself
2 [with object] (Of a person, place, or thing) possess (a feature that is a source of pride): the hotel boasts high standards of comfort...
- This location boasts the standard decor and services of a five-star hotel.
- The luxurious New Forest property boasts features from 14-carat gold painted radiators and silk tented ceilings to a space for a helicopter landing pad.
- The Buffalo City municipality boasts eco-tourism development and has certain unique features, according to Sam.
Synonyms
possess, have, own, enjoy, pride oneself/itself on, be the proud owner of
noun
An act of talking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction: I said I would win and it wasn’t an idle boast...
- It was time to forget about pride and my proud boast of being ‘always well’.
- That is not an idle boast, for the network is alive night and day with the thundering rattle of powerful locomotives and the incessant clanking of machinery in repair depots and marshalling yards.
- A prouder boast would be that it was ‘the most patriotic’.
Synonyms
brag, self-praise;
exaggeration, overstatement;
bragging, crowing, swaggering
informal swank, swanking
Australian/New Zealand informal skite
literary fanfaronade
archaic vaunt, rodomontade, gasconade
Derivatives
boaster
/ noun ...- This individual can also be an extravagant boaster.
- I'm sure I'd be a very good boaster, if I got the chance.
- He rather enjoyed it when things were good, but he'd just made himself a target for those people who weren't kindly inclined to boasters.
boastingly
- Although he may talk boastingly, he will be apt to show a lack of true courage when brought to the test, by not standing steadfastly for the right.
- Some boastingly thought this sort of SPAM should continue.
- The diatribe ends boastingly and bullyingly.
Origin
Middle English (as a noun): of unknown origin.
Rhymes
boast2
/bəʊst/noun
(In squash) a stroke in which the ball is made to hit one of the side walls before hitting the front wall.His favourite ploy was a backhand boast pulling Beachill to the front right corner and whatever Beachill did with that tight ball, Parke was ready....
- Lee wins it with a tight forehand drop of her own but cannot get the next point and after three service changes it's the backhand boast from Jans Burke which gives her the championship.
- Racing to a 6-0 lead in the third, Edwards moved Farrer continuously, cutting off early and using the boast to good effect.
Origin
Late 19th century: perhaps from French bosse denoting a rounded projection in the wall of a court for real tennis.