Definition of BOLD

bold

Meanings

Plural: bolds

Noun

  • a typeface with thick heavy lines
  • A dwelling; habitation; building.

Adjective

  • fearless and daring
    • "bold settlers on some foreign shore"
    • "a bold speech"
    • "a bold adventure"

Adjective Satellite

  • clear and distinct
    • "bold handwriting"
    • "a figure carved in bold relief"
    • "a bold design"
  • very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front
    • "where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise"

Adj

  • Courageous, daring.
  • Visually striking; conspicuous.
  • Having thicker strokes than the ordinary form of the typeface.
  • Presumptuous, forward or impudent.
  • Naughty; insolent; badly-behaved.
  • Full-bodied.
  • Pornographic; depicting nudity.
  • Steep or abrupt.

Verb

  • To make (a font or some text) bold.
  • To make bold or daring.
  • To become bold or brave.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English bold, bolde, bald, beald, from Old English bald, beald (“bold, brave, confident, strong, of good courage, presumptuous, impudent”), from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz (“strong, bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-, *bʰlē- (“to bloat, swell, bubble”).
Cognate with Dutch boud (“bold, courageous, fearless”), Middle High German balt (“bold”) (whence German bald (“soon”)), Swedish båld (“bold, dauntless”). Perhaps related to Albanian ballë (“forehead”) and Old Prussian balo (“forehead”). For semantic development compare Italian affrontare (“to face, to deal with”), sfrontato (“bold, daring, insolent”), both from Latin frons (“forehead”).

Antonyms

;, conservative, reluctant, risk-averse, timid

Scrabble Score: 7

bold is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
bold is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
bold is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

bold is a valid Words With Friends word