boast

boast — verb

1. to keep telling other people about your own success, abilities, or possessions s

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to keep telling other people about your own success, abilities, or possessions so that you sound too proud.

Example

At lunch, Diego boasted about finishing the trail in four hours.

boast about + achievement

Rashida boasted that her bakery had sold out before noon.

boast that + clause

Common collocations
  • boast about winning
  • boast of success
  • boast that you never lost
  • boast to friends
Synonyms
  • brag

    very close in meaning, but more informal and often cruder in tone

  • show off

    broader; can describe attention-seeking behavior, not only speech

  • crow

    informal; especially used after beating someone or proving others wrong

  • vaunt

    formal or literary; much less common in everyday English

Antonyms
  • be modest

    focuses on not talking proudly about yourself

  • play down

    means to make an achievement or quality seem less important

Grammar Patterns

boast about + noun

boast of + noun

boast that + clause

Usage Note

Often followed by 'about' or 'of' before the topic, and by a that-clause when the speaker is making a full claim. This sense usually sounds critical; for the more neutral meaning used for places or products, see verb/2.

Common Mistakes

She boasted her new phone to everyone.
She boasted about her new phone to everyone.
in this sense, the thing mentioned usually comes after 'about' or 'of', not directly after 'boast'.

2. to have a quality, part, or number that is impressive and worth mentioning.

2.verbtransitiveC2
Definition

to have a quality, part, or number that is impressive and worth mentioning.

Example

The new library boasts a quiet study room for night students.

boast + facility

Our town now boasts two bike bridges over the river.

boast + number/feature

Common collocations
  • boast a swimming pool
  • boast a fine view
  • boast a high pass rate
  • boast its own airport
Synonyms
  • have

    neutral and much broader; it does not suggest that the feature is impressive

  • feature

    common for products, websites, and buildings; often sounds slightly more factual

  • offer

    stresses what is available to users, customers, or visitors

  • possess

    more formal and less common in everyday descriptions

Antonyms
  • lack

    means not to have a feature or quality

Grammar Patterns

boast + noun phrase

boast + number/feature

Usage Note

Subject is usually a place, company, product, or institution rather than a person. Unlike verb/1, this sense takes the impressive feature as a direct object and is common in travel writing, news reports, and advertising.

Common Mistakes

The hotel boasts about a rooftop pool.
The hotel boasts a rooftop pool.
in this sense, 'boast' usually takes the feature directly as its object.

boast — noun

Word family

  • boastful
    adjectiveC1
  • boastfully
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Boast' is the general word for talking with too much pride about yourself, what you own, or what you have done. 'Brag' is very close, but it is more informal and often sounds cruder or more childish. 'Show off' is broader: someone can show off through clothes, actions, or speech, so the attention-seeking behavior matters more than the words alone. 'Crow' is informal and usually appears after a win or after proving another person wrong. 'Vaunt' is formal or literary and is rare in daily conversation. A runner may boast about a race time, a child may brag about a new bike, and a rival may crow after beating your team.

boast ↗bragshow off ↗crowvaunt

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • have something to boast about
  • not much to boast about
  • boast that ...
  • boast of ...

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle EnglishEnglish

Boast is recorded in Middle English as 'boost' or 'bost'. Its deeper origin is uncertain, but from early on it carried the idea of making a proud claim. English later widened that speaking sense to the use for having a feature worth mentioning, and from the same idea it also formed the noun for a point of pride.