boast

1 of 3

noun

ˈbōst

Synonyms of boast next

: 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.

: a cause for pride

boast

2 of 3

verb (1)

boasted; boasting; boasts

intransitive verb

: to praise oneself extravagantly in speech : speak of oneself with excessive pride

boasting about her accomplishments

archaic : glory, exult

transitive verb

: to speak of or assert with excessive pride

He liked to boast that he was the richest man in town.

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

boasts a new stadium

: have, contain

a room boasting no more than a desk and a chair

boaster noun

boast

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verb (2)

boasted; boasting; boasts

transitive verb

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

Choose the Right Synonym for boast

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

Example Sentences

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

This is a popular boast from politicians throughout the country. —

Aarón Torres, Dallas News, 20 Mar. 2023 To those familiar with Trump, his boasts sounded ridiculous. —

Dan Alexander, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2023 Golden State’s big three boast some of the strongest playoff pedigrees of any players of their generation, but the Warriors relied on several less experienced players — especially Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga — throughout the regular season just to stay afloat. —

C.j. Holmes, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Apr. 2023 The boast to his father wasn’t the only one Pelé’s talent made good on. —

Staff Writer Follow, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2022 His boast was made in 2014, alongside the company’s biggest product launch in years—the iPhone 6. —

Dan Gallagher, wsj.com, 21 Apr. 2023 The Bruins’ dressing room has already commenced the annual ribbing and lofty boasts that come whenever pucks drop at the Frozen Four. —

Conor Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Apr. 2023 The cross-border attack called into question Moscow’s boast to have fully disabled Kyiv’s aerial capabilities. —

Patrick J. Mcdonnell, Henry Chu And Kate Linthicum, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Apr. 2022 Tesla’s investor day on 1 March began with a rambling, detailed discourse on energy and the environment before transitioning into a series of mostly predictable announcements and boasts. —

IEEE Spectrum, 22 Mar. 2023

Verb

Turkey boasts of having NATO’s second largest armed forces after the U.S. Controlling the crucial Bosporus Strait, Turkey is widely believed to host U.S. nuclear missiles on its soil. —

Matt Bradley, NBC News, 28 May 2023 Depending on the agency, roughly 10 to 12 countries can currently boast the AAA rating. —

Grace Segers, The New Republic, 26 May 2023 With a short-sleeve T-shirt top and slightly high-waisted bottoms, this bikini is stylish while still boasting full coverage in the bust and bottoms. —

Anna Popp, Travel + Leisure, 25 May 2023 Cate Blanchett floated by, trailed by an entourage of at least 30 people, and probably didn’t notice that the fancy cart at the bar entrance boasted a French Riviera gin made by her Babel and Curious Case of Benjamin Button pal Brad Pitt. —

Chris Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 May 2023 The team boasted four of its starters listed in The Republic's 2022-23 season Elite 50 players poll, including No. 1 junior Shay Ijiwoye and No. 5 freshman Jerzy Robinson, who recently transferred to powerhouse Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California). —

Dana Scott, The Arizona Republic, 23 May 2023 Before Quibi went under, Katzenberg had boasted of paying upwards of $6 million per hour of programming from A-listers including Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Jennifer Lopez, Sam Raimi, Reese Witherspoon, Antoine Fuqua, Lena Waithe, Kevin Hart and Steven Soderbergh. —

Todd Spangler, Variety, 23 May 2023 Why experts say the race has clues for 2024 Cameron started off the primary as the front-runner, boasting broad name recognition and deep ties to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell's powerful network. —

Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 16 May 2023 However, hours later DeSantis was standing on a table bench to address an enthusiastic gathering of about 150 people, boasting about his record in Florida and the work being done in Iowa, saying the results could be repeated across the country. —

Michael Lee, Fox News, 14 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'boast.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.