bootlicker

American  

[boot-lik-er] / ˈbutˌlɪk ər /

noun

1. someone who seeks favor or goodwill in a servile, degraded way; toady.

   He comes across as a facile bootlicker, someone who would do anything like a lapdog to please somebody in the chain of command.

---

Etymology

Origin of bootlicker

boot ¹ ( def. ) + lick ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

His name gave us the English word "quisling": it means a lackey, a traitor, a bootlicker.

From BBC

At the home of Juarez, protesters used a bullhorn and spray-painted "corporate bootlicker" on the street.

From Fox News

He was Trumpian in two key respects: He surrounded himself with bootlickers and was unwilling to admit error.

From Washington Post

“This is less a news story than it is a press release,” wrote one critic, beneath a headline calling Swan “a bootlicker.”

From Washington Post

One columnist called him a “bootlicker”; another went with “the ne plus ultra of media toadying.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• adherent
• admirer
• advocate
• backer
• believer
• client
• devotee
• disciple
• fan
• member
• participant
• patron
• supporter
• worshiper