bootlick

American  

[boot-lik] / ˈbutˌlɪk /

verb (used with object)

1. to seek the favor or goodwill of in a servile, degraded way; toady to.

   Synonyms:

   apple-polish, fawn, flatter

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verb (used without object)

1. to be a toady.

   Synonyms:

   apple-polish, fawn, flatter

bootlick British  

/ ˈbuːtˌlɪk /

verb

1. informal to seek favour by servile or ingratiating behaviour towards (someone, esp someone in authority); toady

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Other Word Forms

• bootlicker noun

Etymology

Origin of bootlick

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; boot ¹ + lick

Example Sentences

And you've got to play politics, bootlick your boss—all that.

From O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 by Various

You have to be a bit of a bootlick, and people will give you tips, which is against all scout rules.”

From Boy Scouts in Glacier Park The Adventures of Two Young Easterners in the Heart of the High Rockies by Eaton, Walter Prichard

At Yale, and other colleges, a tutor or any other officer who informs against the students, or acts as a spy upon their conduct, is also called a bootlick.

From A Collection of College Words and Customs by Hall, Benjamin Homer

He became a "bone," and tried so hard to delight his instructors that he was suspected of boning bootlick with the Academic Board.

From Dick Prescott's Third Year at West Point Standing Firm for Flag and Honor by Hancock, H. Irving (Harrie Irving)

Or a manufacturer and having to bootlick the buyers?

From Success A Novel by Adams, Samuel Hopkins