What does bolo mean?
Bolo is a noun with several distinct meanings across the English-speaking world. Its oldest sense is a large, heavy, single-edged knife similar to a machete, widely used in the Philippines and Southeast Asia for clearing brush, harvesting crops, and historically as a weapon; the word comes from Spanish and ultimately from Latin. A second, very familiar sense in the United States is the bolo tie — a necktie made of a braided leather cord secured by an ornamental metal clasp — a signature accessory of Western and Southwestern dress, sometimes called a string tie. A third, more specialized use is American police jargon, where a "bolo" broadcast alerts officers that a suspect or prisoner has escaped or is at large. Which meaning applies depends heavily on region and context, making bolo a compact example of how a single borrowed word can branch into unrelated spheres of life.
A large heavy single-edged knife or machete used in the Philippines and Southeast Asia for clearing vegetation and, historically, in combat.
"Workers used bolos to harvest the sugarcane."
Standard plural is bolos. This is the original sense of the word.
Short for bolo tie: a cord-style necktie fastened with an ornamental clasp, associated with the American West.
"His silver-and-turquoise bolo completed his Western outfit."
US police slang for an alert that a suspect or prisoner has escaped or is at large.
"Dispatch put out a bolo on the missing inmate."
Informal register, chiefly North American law-enforcement usage.
Standard English plural, used for both the knives and the neckties.
"The stall displayed hand-forged bolos from several provinces."
In American police radio code, 'bolo' signals that a prisoner has broken loose — one of several lives this short word leads around the world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bolo
The word bolo entered English via Spanish, in which it denotes a machete-like cutting knife, and was adopted into Philippine English alongside the widespread local use of the blade itself. The bolo tie, though sharing the name, is a twentieth-century American invention of the Southwest, and the reason it took the name "bolo" is not definitively established. The police-code sense arose separately within American law-enforcement radio usage.
Related word forms
How bolo is actually used
In everyday English, "bolo" most often appears as part of the compound "bolo tie," which is strongly associated with the American Southwest and Western wear. In Philippine English, "bolo" refers to the machete-like knife and is in common daily use. As police slang it is informal and chiefly North American.
Easily confused with bolo
A halberd is a European two-handed pole weapon combining an axe blade with a spike, whereas a bolo is a Philippine broad-bladed cutting knife resembling a machete.