boot camp

noun

Updated on: 21 Apr 2018

Definition of boot camp

1 : a navy or marine corps camp for basic training

2 : a disciplinary facility or program in which young offenders are forced to participate in a rigidly structured routine

3 : a place or undertaking that resembles a military boot camp especially by requiring one to endure intensive training or initiation

Nowadays, the more talented players view their college years as necessary boot camp to prepare them for the riches waiting for them in pro football.
—Anson Mount

These youngsters are put through what amounts to a boot camp of courses in music notation, basic harmony and ear-training.
—Smithsonian

See boot camp defined for English-language learners

See boot camp defined for kids

Recent Examples of boot camp from the Web

Twelve years before Hoskins enlisted, Diane Jackson, 62, made it through the physical and mental challenges of boot camp.

— stephen hudak, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Statue of female sailor at Blue Jacket Park honors Navy legacy, women who served at sea," 14 Apr. 2018
Just For Moms This is a specialized boot camp for local moms.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Davie, Cooper City area events, April 11-21," 11 Apr. 2018
The boot camp will go over building relationships with clients, pitching, budgeting and drafting contracts — topics often left in the dark when discussing the craft of storytelling.

— detroit free press staff, Detroit Free Press, "Build your movie-making skills, knowledge at free Freep Film Festival events," 5 Apr. 2018
The boot camp will be a 5-part series of weekly workshops led by Jeremy Jusek, author of We Grow Tomatoes in Tiny Towns (2019).

— jennifer heilman, cleveland.com, "Library hosts poetry boot camp," 27 Mar. 2018
The boot camp is a collection of everything basketball players love to hate.

— andrew beaton, WSJ, "Loyola-Chicago Beats Kansas State to Advance to the Final Four," 24 Mar. 2018
The classes, five hours a day, include beach boot camp, sports conditioning, core conditioning, balance training, Pilates, ballet tone, dynamic stretching and yoga.

— diane daniel, chicagotribune.com, "Active itineraries: More vacation packages combine travel and fitness," 23 Mar. 2018
The boot camp, said the 22-year-old from Tacony, was a chance to get a union job.

— lini s. kadaba, Philly.com, "How this company matches skilled workers with employers in the Delaware Valley," 14 Mar. 2018
Killmonger’s slash-and-burn approach to freedom, and T’Challa’s future coding boot camp for black American youth, both fail to address how oppression, particularly in the 21st century, is systemic.

— rahawa haile, Longreads, "How Black Panther Asks Us to Examine Who We Are To One Another," 23 Feb. 2018

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

First Known Use of boot camp

1916

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

BOOT CAMP Defined for English Language Learners

boot camp

noun

Definition of boot camp for English Language Learners

: a camp where people who have recently joined the U.S. Army, Navy, or Marine Corps receive their basic training
: a short but very difficult training program : a program or situation that helps people become much better at doing something in a short period of time