to bolt down
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
salir corriendo
- Startled by the loud noise, the dog bolted down the street in fright.
Examples
-
Like a rabbit, I bolted down the fire escape.
Fiction book (1994) -
When the alarm went off, I bolted down the stairs to escape the building.
-
Thinking quickly, Animal bolts down a small alleyway.
Fiction book (1998) -
As soon as he saw the bear, he bolted down the trail to safety.
Synonyms
550
1.6
To leave secretly and quickly to get away from danger or control
331
2.4
To run away from a place because it is dangerous
260
3.7
To leave a place or person suddenly, often without saying goodbye
78
2.0
Leave a place suddenly, often to avoid someone or something
73
1.0
To move very quickly to reach a place
69
2.3
To run away suddenly to escape danger
36
5.3
To try to escape quickly, often by running
25
3.9
Get away very quickly to avoid being hurt
20
3.8
Leave suddenly because you are in a hurry
18
8.3
To leave a place very quickly to escape danger or trouble
16
8.4
To leave a place quickly to avoid trouble or danger
14
9.3
To run away quickly because you are afraid
11
4.4
Leave a place quickly to avoid being caught after causing or seeing trouble
7
7.0
To run away quickly because you are afraid
7
9.2
Leave a place quickly to avoid trouble or danger
7
5.6
To leave a place quickly to escape danger or trouble
5
5.8
To leave a place suddenly and unexpectedly
5
4.9
Leave a place suddenly and quickly because you feel scared
5
6.6
Leave a place quickly because people are angry or you are in trouble
5
7.2
Leave quickly to go somewhere or to avoid trouble
5
8.0
To leave a place very quickly to avoid danger or trouble
4
7.8
To run away quickly to escape danger
3
1.7
To suddenly start running, often after walking or standing still
2
2.5
Leave a place quickly because you are in a hurry
2
9.0
To leave quickly to escape or avoid something
1
9.0
Move quickly on foot to escape or reach a place fast
1
5.8
To move quickly and lightly away, often because something scares you
1
7.1
Move away quickly to avoid something you are afraid of
1
6.0
To leave a place quickly to avoid danger or trouble
1
6.1
Run away quickly to escape danger or trouble
1
7.2
To run or move very quickly without control
Run quickly into the woods to escape danger
To leave a place quickly and secretly, often taking things or someone
To run away quickly, usually because you are afraid
To run away quickly to avoid being caught
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is only partly predictable: if a learner knows the verb sense 'bolt' = 'run away/suddenly dash' and understands 'down' as indicating movement along a path (e.g. 'down the street'), they can compose the sense 'run away quickly'. However, 'bolt' also commonly appears with a different sense ('to eat hastily') and the particle 'down' does not always signal this directional meaning, so the specific idiomatic use is not fully transparent to a B1 learner who only knows the basic constituent definitions provided.
Etymology
Bolt down comes from the word bolt, which means to move very fast, with down showing the direction; picture a horse or person suddenly running off down a hall like an arrow. So, bolt down means 'to run away quickly'.