boycott

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈbɔɪkɒt/ 🇺🇸 /ˈbɔɪˌkɑt/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A voluntary and intentional abstention from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political or social reasons.; The act of refusing to participate in an event, activity, or institution as a form of protest or coercion.
  2. verb
    To refuse to buy, use, or participate in something as a way of expressing disapproval or forcing change.; To withdraw from commercial or social relations with a person or group as a punishment or protest.
  3. noun
    A person who is subjected to social ostracism or exclusion by a group, historically referring to Captain Charles Boycott in Ireland in 1880.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: boycotts 3rd sing.: boycotts Past: boycotted Past part.: boycotted Pres part.: boycotting

Collocations

impose a boycottlift a boycottcall for a boycotttrade boycotteconomic boycottboycott a product

Derivatives

boycotter

Synonyms

banembargoblacklistostracizeshun

Antonyms

supportendorsepatronize

Commonly confused

embargo
EN: An embargo is an official government-imposed trade restriction, while a boycott is a voluntary organized refusal to buy or participate.
ban
EN: A ban is an official prohibition by an authority, while a boycott is a voluntary collective refusal to engage with something.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the double 't' at the end: 'boycott', not 'boycot'. The word is named after Captain Charles Boycott, an Irish land agent ostracized in 1880.

💬 Examples

  1. The workers organized a boycott of the company's products to protest the unfair labor practices.

  2. Several nations announced a boycott of the Olympic Games in response to the host country's human rights violations.

  3. Consumers decided to boycott the brand after learning about its environmental violations.

  4. The community boycotted the landlord who had raised rents beyond what tenants could afford.

  5. The term 'boycott' originated from the experience of a land agent who became a boycott in County Mayo, Ireland.