bootstrap

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In science-fiction scenarios of first contact with extraterrestrials, humans usually bootstrap a common language with mathematics, demonstrating that we know the digits of pi and so forth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

SilverSneakers represents just a small slice of that — the costs are not broken out by MedPAC — but it’s significant enough that the bootstrap venture has turned into a big business.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 5, 2025

“Five years ago, I didn’t get any money at all. I had to bootstrap the company.”

From BBC • Oct. 21, 2024

Producers follow “We the People” teams from schools that are amply funded and expect to win and others whose teachers and administrations bootstrap it through their preparations.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2024

A person who pulls himself up from a low environment via the bootstrap route has two choices.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith