boycott

verb

boy·​cott ˈbȯi-ˌkät How to pronounce boycott (audio)
boycotted; boycotting; boycotts

transitive verb

: to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (a person, a store, an organization, etc.) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions
boycotting American products
boycott noun
boycotter noun

Did you know?

In the 1870s, Irish farmers faced an agricultural crisis that threatened to result in a repeat of the terrible famine and mass evictions of the 1840s. Anticipating financial ruin, they formed a Land League to campaign against the rent increases and evictions landlords were imposing as a result of the crisis. When retired British army captain Charles Boycott, acting as an agent for an absentee landlord, tried to evict tenant farmers for refusing to pay their rent, he was ostracized by the League and community. His laborers and servants quit, and the crops in his care began to rot. Boycott’s fate was soon well known, and his name became a byword for that particular protest strategy, both as a verb and as a noun. Across the Atlantic three-quarters of a century later, boycotts such as the Montgomery bus boycott were pivotal components of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Examples of boycott in a Sentence

plans to boycott American products They boycotted the city's bus system. We boycotted companies that were polluting the environment.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Gone are the calls to boycott elections and the looming terrorist threats which once deterred people from the polls, and many Kashmiris are feeling energized by a wave of 346 independent candidates challenging the region’s traditional parties. Fahad Shah, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Sep. 2024 Caught on camera, the wolf seen lying on a bar floor in Sublette County led to calls to boycott Wyoming's $4.8 billion-a-year tourism industry centered on Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, which comprise a prime wolf habitat not far from where the wolf was struck. CBS News, 30 Sep. 2024 In 2017, the Arkansas Legislature passed a law prohibiting public entities from contracting with and investing in companies that boycott Israel, arguing that companies that refuse to deal with the Israeli government for political reasons are engaging in discrimination. Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2024 There was weakness in China, falling prices in India and operational challenges in Indonesia where shoppers have been boycotting western brands over the war in Gaza. Owen Tripp, Fortune Europe, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for boycott 

Word History

Etymology

Charles C. Boycott †1897 English land agent in Ireland who was ostracized for refusing to reduce rents

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of boycott was in 1880

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near boycott

Cite this Entry

“Boycott.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boycott. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

boycott

1 of 2 verb
boy·​cott
ˈbȯi-ˌkät
: to join with others in refusing to deal with a person, organization, or country usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of terms

boycott

2 of 2 noun
: the process or an instance of boycotting
Etymology

named for Charles Boycott 1832–1897 estate manager in Ireland

Word Origin
In the autumn of 1880 there was much unrest in the Irish countryside as the result of a depression. Many farmers who did not own the land they worked were unable to pay their rent. A Land League was formed to fight eviction of tenants, and the first victim of their campaign was one Charles S. Boycott, a retired English army captain who worked as an agent for an absentee landlord in County Mayo. When this landlord's tenants refused to pay their rents unless they received a reduction, Boycott attempted to serve eviction notices. As a result, he was shunned by the community, his laborers and servants quit, and the crops on his own farm began to rot. Fifty volunteers from northern Ireland were sent to Mayo to harvest his crops, guarded by hundreds of troops and police. The new tactic of shunning a person to assert a grievance needed a name, and Boycott's name was at hand. Though the British government banned the Irish Land League, the word boycott is still part of English.

Legal Definition

boycott

transitive verb
boy·​cott ˈbȯi-ˌkät How to pronounce boycott (audio)
: to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (as a store, business, or organization) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions see also primary boycott, secondary boycott

Note: A boycott of a business by its competitors, suppliers, or buyers that has the effect of preventing the business's access to the market is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

boycott noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!