Meanings
plural boot camps
- CanadaUScolloquialgovernmentAn initial, basic indoctrination, physical fitness training and basic instruction in service-related subjects for new recruits in the armed forces (army, Air Force, navy and Marine Corps).
Synonyms: basic training
- CanadaUSA short, intensive, quasi-military program generally aimed at young offenders as an alternative to a jail term.
- CanadaUSidiomaticAny short, often intensive course of training.
We will institute a boot camp for training the sales force in these new products.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn initial, basic indoctrination, physical fitness training and basic instruction in service-related subjects for new recruits in the armed forces (army, Air Force, navy and Marine Corps).
Origin
From boot (“US military slang sense of “new recruit””) + camp.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish intensiivikurssi
- intensiivikurssiany short, intensive course of training
Hungarian intenzív kiképzés
- intenzív kiképzésany short, intensive course of training
Māori puni whakaara
- puni whakaaraa short, intensive, quasi-military program generally aimed at young offenders as an alternative to a jail term
Russian исправи́тельная коло́ния, уче́бный курс
- исправи́тельная коло́ния (ispravítelʹnaja kolónija)a short, intensive, quasi-military program generally aimed at young offenders as an alternative to a jail term
- уче́бный курс (učébnyj kurs)any short, intensive course of training
- интенси́вный курс (intɛnsívnyj kurs)any short, intensive course of training
Cite this entry
boot camp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boot%20camp
“boot camp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boot%20camp. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boot camp,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boot%20camp.
Source: boot camp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.