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1. Move or jump suddenly
   "She bolted from her seat"
    
2. Secure or lock with a bolt
   "bolt the door"
    
3. Swallow hastily
    
4. Run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along
   "the accountant bolted with the cash from the safe";
   - abscond, absquatulate [N. Amer], decamp, run off, go off, make off, make away
    
5. Leave suddenly and as if in a hurry
   "The listeners bolted when he discussed his strange ideas"; "When she started to tell silly stories, I bolted out";
   - run off, run out, bolt out, beetle off
    
6. Eat hastily without proper chewing
   "Don't bolt your food!";
   - gobble
    
7. Make or roll into bolts
   "bolt fabric"

1. A discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder
   - thunderbolt, bolt of lightning
    
2. A sliding bar in a breech-loading firearm that ejects an empty cartridge and replaces it and closes the breech
    
3. The part of a lock that is engaged or withdrawn with a key
   - deadbolt
    
4. The act of moving with great haste
   "he made a bolt for the door";
   - dash
    
5. A roll of cloth or wallpaper of a definite length
    
6. A screw that screws into a nut to form a fastener
    
7. A sudden abandonment (as from a political party)

1. In a rigid manner
   "he sat bolt upright";
   - rigidly, stiffly
    
2. Directly
   - bang, slap, slapdash, smack [informal]

Derived forms: bolts, bolting, bolted

See also: bolt down [informal]

Type of: abandonment, bar, cut and run [informal], desertion, eat, flee, fly, forsaking, furl, get down, go away, go forth, haste, hurry, leave, lightning, lock, move, off [informal], roll, roll up, rush, rushing, screw, swallow, take flight

Antonym: unbolt

Part of: lock, nut and bolt, rifle

Encyclopedia: Bolt, Thomas