boulder
/ˈboʊl.dɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.71 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A particle greater than 256 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale
noun
A large marble, in children's games.
noun
A session of bouldering; involvement in bouldering.
verb
To engage in bouldering.
name
A town in Western Australia, merged with Kalgoorlie in 1989 as the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
name
A home rule municipality, the county seat of Boulder County, Colorado, United States.
name
An unincorporated community in Clinton County, Illinois, United States.
Example Sentences
- "There were four sizes of marbles and we called them boulders, biggies, regulars, and teenies."
- "He bouldered a route in the same area with ease. Mitchell, 11, was hanging with the older kids in an area where bouldering nearly upside down seemed to be...."
- "As the week unfolded, we were taught about the equipment we needed, how to tie a rope and what to wear. We learnt to balance on our feet rather than cling on with our arms and to trust our rock shoes, the moulded rubber slippers that can grip the smoothest of surfaces. We abseiled, bouldered and belayed."
- "There's even old climbing hardware in it because people bouldered on it for years."
Etymology
From late Middle English bulder, short for Middle English bulder ston (“a stone that's been worn into a round shape, boulder, cobblestone”), possibly from Old Swedish *buldersten, itself possibly from Old Swedish bulder (“rumble, noise”) + sten (“stone”); whence dialectal Swedish bullersten (“large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it”). The first element may alternatively be allied to Old Swedish bulle, bolle (“round drinking vessel, tumbler”), from Old Norse bolli, related to Old English bolla (“round object, bowl”), see English bowl.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈboʊl.dɚ/
- British English: /ˈbəʊl.də(ɹ)/