What does bootstrap mean?
Bootstrap began as a practical object: the loop of leather stitched to the back of a boot to help pull it on. From this humble origin grew one of English's most evocative metaphors. Because lifting oneself by one's own bootstraps is physically impossible, the image became a 19th-century joke about absurdity — yet over time the phrase 'to pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps' shed its ironic origins and turned into a sincere emblem of self-reliance, particularly in American culture. Today 'bootstrap' thrives as both noun and verb: entrepreneurs who build companies on their own savings rather than investor money are said to be 'bootstrapping' them, admired for their discipline and independence. In computing, the term took on a technical life of its own, describing the sequence by which a machine starts itself up from a minimal initial state. Whether literal, figurative, or computational, the word consistently captures the idea of a system generating its own momentum from almost nothing.
A loop of leather or fabric attached at the back of a boot to help pull it on; by extension, a means of advancing oneself without external help.
"The old work boots had sturdy leather bootstraps at the heel."
The plural 'bootstraps' appears chiefly in the idiomatic expression 'pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps'.
To start or grow a project, business, or system using only one's own resources, without external funding or assistance.
"She bootstrapped her design studio out of a spare bedroom."
Describing a venture or process launched and sustained through its own internal resources rather than outside support.
"Their bootstrap operation stayed profitable from day one."
Usually attributive, especially in business contexts ('a bootstrap startup', 'bootstrap funding').
The plural refers either to the loops on a pair of boots or to the figurative sense in the idiom 'by one's own bootstraps'.
"Success stories rarely mention how hard it was to lift the company by its own bootstraps."
The idiom 'pull yourself up by your own bootstraps' was originally coined as an absurdity — an 19th-century joke about a physical impossibility that became America's favorite metaphor for self-made success.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bootstrap
Bootstrap arose in late 19th-century American English as a compound of 'boot' and 'strap', denoting the tab or loop used to pull boots on. Its figurative use derives from the phrase 'to pull oneself over a fence by one's bootstraps', recorded in the 1870s–80s as a deliberately impossible feat; the shortened form 'pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps' later lost its ironic force and came to mean genuine self-made success. The computing sense emerged in the mid-20th century, extending the metaphor of a self-initiating process.
Related word forms
How bootstrap is actually used
As a verb, 'bootstrap' is common in business and tech contexts, where it connotes resourcefulness and independence from venture capital. The figurative noun sense is largely confined to the fixed phrase 'pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps'.
Easily confused with bootstrap
A bootlace is the lace that ties a boot closed, while a bootstrap is the loop at the back used to pull the boot on.