boast

«boast» in Mova's school dictionary: to talk too proudly about yourself, what you have or what… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (boast, boasts, boasted, boasting); noun (a boast, boasts)

meaning for a pupil

1) To boast means to talk too proudly about yourself, what you have or what you can do. tree →

2) To boast can mean to have something good that you are proud of: The town boasts a big park. tree →

3) A boast is a proud statement about yourself. tree →

sense in the lessons

In feelings and manners lessons, children learn that boasting can upset others and that being modest is kind. In fables, boastful characters, like the hare in The Tortoise and the Hare, often lose. Phrases: boast about, boast of, boastful.

examples

• He always boasts about his new bike. tree →
• Stop boasting; it isn't nice. tree →
• The hare boasted that he was the fastest animal. tree →
• She boasted that she could swim a mile. tree →
• Our school boasts a huge library. tree →
• His boast that he could eat ten pizzas was not true. tree →
• It's fine to be proud, but don't boast. tree →
• Be sure of your pedigree before you boast of it. tree →

note

Regular verb: boasted. Adjective: boastful. Similar words: brag, show off. Opposite: modest. Boast about or of something (not boast with).

In the corpora

• That night, on a lonely common under the stars, Toad boasts: «This is the real life for a gentleman!
• But Toad boasts too much.
• Toad boasts to himself: «My enemies shut me up in prison...
• Toad boasts: «Been in prison—got out of it, of course!
• «The more he talked and boasted, the more grave and silent the Rat became.» (grave = serious)

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «boast» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.