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Synonyms

bolo

1 American  
[boh-loh] / ˈboʊ loʊ /

noun

plural

bolos

  1. a large, heavy, single-edged knife or machete for hacking, used in the Philippines and by the U.S. Army.

bolo 2 American  
[boh-loh] / ˈboʊ loʊ /

noun

plural

bolos

  1. a soldier who does not meet the minimum standards of marksmanship.

  2. a clumsy or incompetent soldier.

verb (used without object)

boloed, boloing

  1. to fail to meet the minimum standards of marksmanship.

bolo 3 American  
[boh-loh] / ˈboʊ loʊ /

noun

  1. bolo tie.

BOLO 4 American  
[boh-loh] / ˈboʊˌloʊ /

abbreviation

  1. be on the lookout: an instruction or warning to law enforcement personnel, or sometimes to the general public, to be watchful for the appearance of a criminal suspect or criminal activity.

    The police issued a BOLO at 2:14 p.m., just moments after the robbery was reported.
bolo British  
/ ˈbəʊləʊ /

noun

  1. a large single-edged knife, originating in the Philippines

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bolo1

First recorded in 1900–05; from Philippine Spanish; further origin uncertain

Origin of bolo2

First recorded in 1915–20; said to be after Bolo Pascha (died 1918), German agent in France during World War I

Origin of BOLO4

First recorded in 1975–80

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.

The bolo makes Lynch look a bit like “Blue Velvet’s” demented antagonist, Frank Booth, a rockabilly nightmare played by Dennis Hopper.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2025

A chicken salad sandwich featured notably tender chicken-hunks — cooked in a combi oven — with local crabapple sauce, a restrained allspice-ginger aioli and pickled radish for contrast, all on a warm, cushy bolo roll.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 8, 2023

Perhaps the most confounding person on the list is Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Coloradan who, according to the Times, would wear bolo ties and “roar… around town on a highly accessorized Harley-Davidson.”

From Slate • Dec. 9, 2022

"More than anything my TikTok is a work tool," said Novoa, who also sells bolo through his channel.

From Reuters • Nov. 12, 2022

Kyril Montana wore a neatly pressed pink shirt, a bolo tie, beige, tapered western pants, and cowboy boots, and he carried a pack of filtertip cigarettes in his shirt pocket over the heart.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.