What does boycotted mean?
"Boycotted" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "boycott," meaning to refuse to buy from, use, attend, or associate with a person, organization, product, event, or country as an act of protest or pressure. When consumers have boycotted a brand, they have collectively withheld their custom to express disapproval or force change; when athletes' teams were boycotted or a nation was boycotted at an international gathering, participation was deliberately withdrawn to make a political point. The term carries connotations of organized, principled resistance rather than mere personal avoidance — a strike of wallets and attention. Its origin is famously concrete: in 1880, Irish tenant farmers ostracized Captain Charles Boycott, a land agent who refused to lower rents, and the tactic was named after him. Today the word is standard in British and American English, common in journalism, politics, consumer advocacy, and discussions of social movements.
verbPast tense and past participle of "boycott": to refuse to buy, use, or participate in something, or to have no dealings with a person or group, as a form of protest or punishment.
- To refuse to buy, use, attend, or deal with a person, company, product, event, or country as an expression of protest or disapproval.
- To deliberately avoid associating with someone socially or professionally as a sanction.
"Consumers boycotted the company after news of its unethical labor practices spread."
"Shoppers boycotted the supermarket chain until it agreed to pay its suppliers fairly."
"Several nations boycotted the Olympic Games in protest at the host country's policies."
The word comes from Captain Charles Boycott, an Irish land agent so thoroughly shunned by his community in 1880 that his own name became the word for it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of boycotted
The word derives directly from the name of Captain Charles Boycott, an English land agent managing estates in County Mayo, Ireland, who in 1880 became the target of a campaign of total ostracism organized by the Irish Land League after he refused demands for rent reductions. Local workers refused to harvest his crops, shops refused to serve him, and the tactic attracted international attention. The practice itself was not new, but naming it after Boycott proved so memorable that the eponym entered English within years of the episode and quickly spread to other languages.
Related word forms
How boycotted is actually used
"Boycotted" is neutral-to-formal in register and appears frequently in political, economic, and consumer contexts. It typically implies organized or deliberate action rather than casual avoidance. The base form is "boycott"; "boycotted" is used as both simple past and past participle.
Easily confused with boycotted
"Embargoed" refers to an official government or authority ban on trade or shipping, whereas "boycotted" describes voluntary refusal by individuals or groups as protest.