boast

\ ˈbōst

Definition of boast

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : a statement expressing excessive pride in oneself : the act or an instance of boasting (see boast entry 2) : brag It may sound like a boast, but I truly am very wealthy.

2 : a cause for pride

boast

verb (1)

boasted; boasting; boasts

Definition of boast (Entry 2 of 3)

intransitive verb

1 : to praise oneself extravagantly in speech : speak of oneself with excessive pride boasting about her accomplishments

2 archaic : glory, exult

transitive verb

1 : to speak of or assert with excessive pride He liked to boast that he was the richest man in town.

2a : to possess and often call attention to (something that is a source of pride) boasts a new stadium

b : have, contain a room boasting no more than a desk and a chair

boast

verb (2)

boasted; boasting; boasts

Definition of boast (Entry 3 of 3)

transitive verb

: to shape (stone) roughly in sculpture and stonecutting as a preliminary to finer work

Other Words from boast Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about boast

Keep scrolling for more

Choose the Right Synonym for boast

Verb (1)

boast, brag, vaunt, crow mean to express pride in oneself or one's accomplishments. boast often suggests ostentation and exaggeration boasts of every trivial success , but it may imply a claiming with proper and justifiable pride. the town boasts one of the best museums in the area brag suggests crudity and artlessness in glorifying oneself. bragging of their exploits vaunt usually connotes more pomp and bombast than boast and less crudity or naïveté than brag. vaunted his country's military might crow usually implies exultant boasting or bragging. crowed after winning the championship

Examples of boast in a Sentence

Noun When he says he's the richest man in town, he's not just making an idle boast. We were offended by his boast that he would easily beat us. The museum's proudest boast is its collection of rare gems.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun These plush characters are all available on the Disney Store site, and each boast an above average 4+-star rating. — Isabelle Kagan, USA TODAY, "The 15 best things to buy online from ShopDisney," 18 Dec. 2020 Of the teams in the running for this year’s playoffs, four boast QBs projected as consensus first-rounders (Lawrence, Fields, Alabama’s Mac Jones and Florida’s Kyle Trask). — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, "The College Football Playoff committee is about to stiff a team from Texas again," 11 Dec. 2020 Retail investors led the dramatic equity market recovery from the Covid-19 shock, flooding internet message boards to share memes, boast of wins and lament losses. — Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, "The Capital Letter: Week of November 30," 4 Dec. 2020 Moderates, many from swing-districts or states, often focus on local issues that don't always draw the spotlight and boast of working across the aisle to enact more incremental changes in larger policy. — Christal Hayes, USA TODAY, "The Democratic party is waging a war over its future just as Joe Biden is taking the helm," 15 Nov. 2020 When New York Mayor Bill de Blasio pushed the lighting button, the tree backed up its boast, looking like the rightful beacon of Christmas with more than 50,000 colorful LED lights and a 900-pound star made of more than 3 million Swarovski crystals. — Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, "Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting: Dolly Parton, Kelly Clarkson and Jimmy Fallon sleigh it," 3 Dec. 2020 The clients often have a plenitude of bedrooms or bunks and boast of their large families. — Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, "“Emily in Paris” and the Rise of Ambient TV," 16 Nov. 2020 The Broncos boast kicker Brandon McManus (18/19), punter Sam Martin (11 kicks inside 20) and returner Diontae Spencer (18.1 yards per kick return). — Safid Deen, sun-sentinel.com, "Who has the edge? Dolphins at Broncos," 19 Nov. 2020 Their next six opponents -- the Titans (twice), Packers, Texans (twice) and Raiders -- boast potent offenses, but their defenses are either sub-par or just plain bad. — Jim Ayello, The Indianapolis Star, "Colts' offense stinks vs. top defenses: Here’s why that doesn’t matter," 9 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Its e-commerce platforms boast hundreds of millions of users and dominate China's online retail sector. — Laura He, CNN, "China launches antitrust investigation into Alibaba," 24 Dec. 2020 Those places can rightfully boast about their Carnival cred, but, New Orleans far and away owns top billing. — Colleen Mcmillar, Better Homes & Gardens, "Everything You Need to Know About Carnival to Kick Off Mardi Gras Season," 23 Dec. 2020 Allen, a former two-year starter at Wyoming who has led the Bills to a pair of playoff berths, boast several rare skills: tremendous arm strength, size (6-5, 237), play strength and athleticism that includes good agility and sprint speed. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Sam Darnold has been a bust, but could change that with some help," 21 Dec. 2020 The Musketeers also boast the top offensive rebounding percentage in the league (44.4 percent) and are the only Big East program that returned all five starters from last season. — Alexa Philippou, courant.com, "UConn women’s basketball vs. Xavier: time, how to watch, broadcasters, preview," 19 Dec. 2020 The face masks boast three layers and are available in two colors — Pink and Blue — and eight different prints, sized to fit children ages five to 14-years-old. — Nicole Saunders, NBC News, "Face masks deals: Where to save on top-rated face masks," 9 Dec. 2020 Carroll foresees no particular payoff for candidates who can point back to this fraught moment and boast about their time in the trenches with Trump, crying foul over the loss to Biden. — Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, "Ted Cruz, affirming Trump’s refusal to concede, angles to be Trumpiest post-Trump contender," 13 Nov. 2020 Not only do the WH-1000XM4s boast class-leading sound, but phenomenal noise-canceling ability. — Cnn Underscored Staff, CNN Underscored, "All the products we found to be the best during our testing this year," 30 Oct. 2020 Like its sister property in Rancho Mirage, Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City, slated to open soon, will boast a state-of-the-art 360 Sports bar/lounge. — Ron Donoho Writer, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Circa Resort & Casino opens in downtown Las Vegas," 13 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'boast.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.