bootstrap paradox

noun

A time travel paradox in which the consequences of an event in the future travel back in time and cause an event in the past or present, which in turn is among the causes of the first event, forming a causal loop in which each event is caused by the other.

Similar
causal loop paradox
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Meanings

nounbootstrap paradox (plural bootstrap paradoxes)

plural bootstrap paradoxes

  1. A time travel paradox in which the consequences of an event in the future travel back in time and cause an event in the past or present, which in turn is among the causes of the first event, forming a causal loop in which each event is caused by the other.

    Synonyms: causal loop paradox

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA time travel paradox in which the consequences of an event in the future travel back in time and cause an event in the past or present, which in turn is among the causes of the first event, forming a causal loop in which each event is caused by the other.

Similar
causal loop paradox
Also see
causal loop paradox

Origin

Compare bootstrap, pull oneself up by one's bootstraps, etc.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bootstrap paradox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bootstrap%20paradox

MLA

“bootstrap paradox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bootstrap%20paradox. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bootstrap paradox,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bootstrap%20paradox.

Source: bootstrap paradox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.