bootlicking

Meanings

nounbootlicking (countable and uncountable, plural bootlickings)

countablefigurativelyuncountableObsequious or servile behavior.
The most obvious — for a junior struggling to lift himself from the mire by his bootlickings — is to go to his Chief and say — frankly — "Out! I need the experience and you need a rest. Clear off for a month or two. I'll cope."
1951, The Library Assistant, volumes 44-45, page xiii
countableliterallyuncountableThe act of licking someone's boot, typically as a BDSM activity.
[…] fist-fucking, black leather-studded collars, and bootlicking.
1975 December 27, Michael Bronski, “"Sextool": It's Porn, It's Politics, But Is It Art?”, in Gay Community News, volume 3, number 26, page 16

verb

adjectiveattempting to win favor from influential people by flattery

adjectiveattempting to win favor by flattery

Similar

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

bootlicking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bootlicking

MLA

“bootlicking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bootlicking. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bootlicking,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bootlicking.