bolt upright

Idioms and Phrases

Precisely perpendicular, erect in carriage, as in She sat bolt upright in her pew . This expression was used in slightly different form by Chaucer in the late 1300s: “She was ... long as a mast and upright as a bolt” ( The Miller's Tale ).

Example Sentences

Sitting bolt upright for a long flight can leave me near-crippled for days, as I once found out through an unwise seat selection.

From The Daily Beast

And then write articles arguing that other people should sit bolt upright for hours on end in order to make this choice bearable.

From The Daily Beast

Mrs. Ducksmith, who had sat with overwhelmed head in her hands, started bolt upright, and looked at him like one thunderstruck.

From Project Gutenberg

"Stop, my young friend," said Crafty, sitting bolt upright on his haunches.

From Project Gutenberg

After listening, for a time, without moving a muscle, he suddenly sat bolt upright and looked round at the player.

From Project Gutenberg

Thurstane, sitting bolt upright in his saddle, stared straight before him with a grim frown, meanwhile thinking of Clara.

From Project Gutenberg

There was, also, the creaking of a bed in another room, and a sound as of some one sitting bolt upright.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• perpendicular
• steep