Synonyms of bolting

bolting 1 of 2

adjective

as in rushing

Related Words

• rushing
• rapid
• racing
• running
• lightning
• swift
• hasty
• flying
• speeding
• speedy
• hurrying
• fleet
• barreling
• rocketing
• scooting
• zipping
• expeditious
• scurrying
• meteoric
• careering
• whirling
• breathless
• scudding
• ready
• whirlwind
• brisk
• whisking
• quick
• breakneck
• dizzy
• warp-speed
• accelerated
• fast
• prompt
• snappy
• hastened
• rushed
• hurried
• quickened

Dissimilar Words

• creeping
• crawling
• dragging
• slow
• lagging
• tardy
• leisurely
• dilatory
• sluggish
• laggard
• poky
• unhurried
• languid
• deliberate
• poking
• dallying
• dillydallying
• measured
• dawdling
• snaillike
• inert
• snail-paced
• inactive
• lounging
• lethargic
• loafing

bolting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bolt

1

as in jumping

to move suddenly and sharply (as in surprise)

I bolted as I read the winning lottery numbers

Synonyms & Similar Words

• jumping
• leaping
• wincing
• cringing
• startling
• flinching
• starting
• jerking
• twitching
• springing
• reacting
• recoiling
• bounding
• jolting
• shrinking
• spooking
• responding
• quailing
• blenching
• squinching

2

as in racing

to proceed or move quickly

the cat bolted for the food dish the minute he spied it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• racing
• hurrying
• rushing
• trotting
• scurrying
• speeding
• driving
• flying
• jumping
• zipping
• traveling
• chasing
• running
• scooting
• buzzing
• blowing
• darting
• stepping
• tearing
• blasting
• scuttling
• ripping
• dashing
• ramming
• zooming
• blazing
• shooting
• whirling
• barreling
• rustling
• nipping
• hastening
• hustling
• jogging
• bowling
• hurling
• bundling
• careering
• haring
• hurtling
• breezing
• humping
• jetting
• belting
• rocketing
• motoring
• coursing
• pelting
• whisking
• galloping
• highballing
• bustling
• careening
• cracking (on)
• hying
• bombing
• cannonballing
• beating it
• sprinting
• scampering
• stampeding
• getting a move on
• making tracks
• flitting
• stepping on it
• accelerating
• hotfooting (it)
• shaking a leg
• scudding
• streaking
• scuffling
• whizzing
• beetling
• overtaking
• outrunning
• outpacing
• outstripping
• quickening
• stepping out
• catching up
• beelining
• arrowing
• fast-forwarding

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• creeping
• crawling
• poking
• dragging
• lingering
• lagging
• hanging (around or out)
• poking
• loitering
• shuffling
• strolling
• dawdling
• sauntering
• dallying
• ambling
• lumbering
• plodding
• tarrying
• slowing (down or up)
• decelerating
• dillydallying

3

as in retreating

to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening

the rabbit bolted when it saw the fox approaching

Synonyms & Similar Words

• retreating
• fleeing
• flying
• running
• escaping
• breaking
• skedaddling
• running away
• running off
• beating a retreat
• bugging out
• beating it
• turning tail
• making tracks
• hightailing (it)
• decamping
• scramming
• eloping
• absconding
• getting (away)
• getting out
• scarpering
• making off
• skipping (out)
• clearing out
• lighting out
• mizzling
• lamming
• skirring
• scatting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• confronting
• facing
• daring
• braving
• defying
• remaining
• staying
• lingering
• dwelling
• bearding
• hanging around
• abiding
• tarrying
• sticking around

4

as in exclaiming

to utter with a sudden burst of strong feeling

bolted out the cuss word without thinking

Synonyms & Similar Words

• exclaiming
• shouting
• crying (out)
• ejaculating
• roaring
• blatting
• bellowing
• blurting (out)
• hollering
• interjecting
• whooping
• howling
• leaking
• blundering
• bleating
• crowing
• yowling
• hooting
• oohing
• aahing

5

as in inhaling

to swallow or eat greedily

the way you bolted those hot dogs, it's no wonder you're feeling a little queasy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• inhaling
• devouring
• gulping
• scarfing
• cramming
• gobbling
• scoffing
• wolfing
• slopping
• ravening
• glutting
• gorging
• ingurgitating
• gormandizing
• overeating
• swilling
• pigging out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• picking
• pecking
• nibbling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of bolting

Verb

Above all, embed accuracy into explainability rather than bolting it on afterward. — Sriram Bhargav Madhav, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Very hot weather encourages bolting, or the production of flowers and eventually seeds, which can draw energy away from leaf production. — Alexandra Jones, The Spruce, 12 Aug. 2026

That work is arguably getting harder as chief executives stay in the job longer, causing their possible successors to get restless; some are bolting to jobs elsewhere or retiring themselves. — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026

To save the cost and effort of pumping millions of liters of seawater solely to obtain minerals, the researchers propose bolting modular reactors onto coastal desalination plants, which already move enormous quantities of the stuff. — New Atlas, 27 July 2026

The internet did not unlock productivity until businesses rewired processes around digital workflows rather than bolting websites onto analog operations. — Nigel Vaz, Time, 20 July 2026

Timing your planting to avoid summer heat will prevent bolting. — Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 7 July 2026

Ujiri engineered the trade in 2018 that brought Leonard to the Raptors without the player agreeing to an extension, and the result was a championship followed by Leonard bolting to the Clippers. — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026

This can include not coming when called, digging under or going over a fence, or simply bolting. — Tanya Edwards, USA Today, 26 June 2026