adj

bold

BOHLD

adj

Willing to take risks; confident and daring.

"It was a bold move to quit her job without another lined up."

"The general made a bold decision to attack at dawn."

Strong and eye-catching in appearance.

"The poster used bold colours to grab attention."

Describing a heavier, thicker style of print text.

"The keywords are printed in bold so you can spot them quickly."

verb

To make text appear in the thicker, bold style.

"She bolded the heading to make it stand out."

How to Use Bold

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither confident and daring, or (for text) printed in a thicker, darker style.

Common pairings

bold move bold colours bold text bold statement

bolder comparative, more bold comparative, bolded past tense, bolds plural, Bolds plural, bolds singular, boldest superlative, most bold superlative

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It was a _____ move to quit her job without another lined up.

From Old English bald/beald, meaning brave or confident, going back to a very old Germanic root shared with Dutch boud and Swedish båld.

embolden

old gold cold hold sold fold mold scold ahold behold uphold untold

embolden