as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
he booted the answer of what should have been an easy question
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Recent Examples of booted
Following his legal trouble, Chacon was booted from his agency and lost out on a role in an upcoming movie, per Deadline.
—
Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
The Bills could get booted early by a Jags squad peaking at exactly the right moment.
—Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
She nearly got booted during the first roundtable vote, a close call that seemed to leave her shaken.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
In post-production, the players must keep all details tight-lipped — or they might be booted off, per season 3 winner Dolores Catania.
—Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
The theater — which turns 100 years old this year — was the longtime home of the Miami Film Festival and other film festivals until the city booted the college from the premises in 2022.
—Daniel Rivero, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
Washington’s season unofficially ended weeks ago, when the Commanders were booted from playoff contention after one of the most disappointing seasons in years.
—Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Special teams surface again Defensive tackle Zach Sieler blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt shortly before Patterson booted a 52-yard field goal.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
Greene was booted from the caucus.
—Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
The Bills could get booted early by a Jags squad peaking at exactly the right moment.
—Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
She nearly got booted during the first roundtable vote, a close call that seemed to leave her shaken.
—Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
In post-production, the players must keep all details tight-lipped — or they might be booted off, per season 3 winner Dolores Catania.
—Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026
The theater — which turns 100 years old this year — was the longtime home of the Miami Film Festival and other film festivals until the city booted the college from the premises in 2022.
—Daniel Rivero, Miami Herald, 9 Jan. 2026
Washington’s season unofficially ended weeks ago, when the Commanders were booted from playoff contention after one of the most disappointing seasons in years.
—Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Special teams surface again Defensive tackle Zach Sieler blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt shortly before Patterson booted a 52-yard field goal.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
Greene was booted from the caucus.
—Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for booted
Verb
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Ball security The Hurricanes have fumbled the ball four times in the past two games and lost two of them — one apiece by Malachi Toney (first round against Texas A&M) and Fletcher (quarterfinal against Ohio State).—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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Kennedy fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone, the source of the noise.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As the curtain came down, Hilty waved and blew kisses to the crowd.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
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LaFleur has one year remaining on his contract, and his job status came into question after the Packers blew an 18-point fourth-quarter lead in Saturday night’s 31-27 playoff loss to the Chicago Bears.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The company aims to scale up its distribution footprint and leverage its physical stores — dubbed Alo Sanctuaries — not just as transactional spaces but hubs for community-building experiences.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
10 Jan. 2026
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But this week, the unwelcome house guest, dubbed Yellow 2120 by researchers, finally got his formal eviction notice.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Booted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/booted. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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