What does boost mean?
"Boost" is a versatile English word meaning to increase, improve, or lift something, whether physically or figuratively. As a verb, it most commonly describes raising levels or quality — boosting sales, boosting confidence, or boosting an economy — but it can also mean physically pushing someone or something upward from behind. As a noun, a boost refers either to that act of improvement or encouragement itself, or to a supplementary dose of a vaccine designed to renew immunity. The word carries a broadly positive connotation and appears constantly in business writing, sports commentary, and everyday conversation alike. It pairs naturally with abstract nouns such as morale, confidence, and productivity, as well as concrete measures like prices, output, and profits. Despite its ubiquity, boost is etymologically mysterious: it emerged in American English around the early nineteenth century with no clear relatives elsewhere, making it one of many ordinary words whose origins remain genuinely unresolved.
To increase, raise, or improve something; also, to push or lift someone or something upward from behind.
"The government introduced tax cuts to boost consumer spending."
The physical pushing sense is older but now less common than the figurative sense of increasing quantities, values, or morale.
An act of increasing, improving, or encouraging something; also, an additional dose of a vaccine given to renew immunity.
"Winning the contract gave the small firm a much-needed boost."
Standard plural, used when referring to multiple instances of improvement or encouragement.
"Small daily wins can add up to significant boosts in overall motivation."
"Boost" has no known relatives in any other language — etymologists still can't say for sure where this everyday word came from.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of boost
"Boost" first appeared in American English in the early nineteenth century, meaning to lift or shove upward from behind, before extending into the figurative sense of raising amounts or spirits. Its ultimate origin is uncertain; some sources connect it loosely to dialectal forms of "boom," but no secure cognates in other languages have been identified. A derivative form, "booster," developed later in the century and eventually gave rise to the medical sense of a supplementary vaccine dose.
Related word forms
How boost is actually used
"Boost" is neutral to positive in connotation and common in both formal and informal contexts, especially in business, economics, and sports reporting. The figurative sense of raising morale or confidence is extremely frequent in journalism.
Easily confused with boost
"Boast" means to talk with excessive pride about oneself or one's achievements, while "boost" means to increase or improve something — the two differ only by one vowel sound.
"Hoist" means to raise something heavy using ropes or machinery, whereas "boost" implies pushing or lifting something from below, often figuratively.