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to boycott

to boycott

72 4.2
To refuse to buy, use, or take part in something to protest
  • verb
  • /ˈbɔɪkɑt/
translation icon : boicotear
  • If you want to make a statement, you should boycott products that harm the environment.
  • boycott goods
  • threaten to boycott
  • boycott the election

They did not see a president boycott the inauguration.

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Examples

  • The farm workers were not to pick grapes, and the public was encouraged to boycott various grape products.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Narrator 2: Most African Americans and some white people did boycott the buses.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • We should shame, boycott and try to shut those places down.

  • The way to fight this is to boycott the city buses.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • So now there are growing calls for people to boycott Equinox and Soul Cycle.

  • A voice on the radio announced that President Carter was boycotting the Moscow Summer Olympics.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • More than 50 House Democrats boycotted the inauguration of President Trump.

  • Outspoken teachers were fired, and students who boycotted classes were dropped from the school registers.

    Academic text (1991)
  • 1955: Thousands of African-Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, boycott buses to protest segregation.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Many activists decided to boycott the store to protest its unfair labor practices.

Antonyms

1.0

Give help to a person or idea

14 5.3

To often buy things from a shop or use its services

How Strong

to embargo
  • Formal
1 7.0
to boycott
72 4.2
to refuse
716 1.7
to ignore
1.0

Surface Forms

boycott infinitive
boycotted past
boycotted past participle
boycotting present participle
boycotts third person singular

Etymology

Boycott comes from the same real story: people refused to deal with Captain Boycott in Ireland in the 1880s as a form of protest. So to boycott something is to 'refuse to buy, use, or take part' as a way to force change.