bolt upright

1. verb To suddenly sit or stand up from a reclining position. I bolted upright in bed when the phone rang in the middle of the night. I was taking a nap when the sound of the fire alarm made me bolt upright. You have to be very quiet, OK? My daughter's sleeping now, but she will bolt upright at the slightest noise.

2. adjective Very erect in posture. The teacher instructed us to be bolt upright on the stage during the assembly. Come on, I can't accurately measure your height if you don't stand bolt upright! A: "Ever since his back injury, it's hard for Grandpa to be bolt upright." B: "Oh, is that why he's hunched over most of the time?"

See also: bolt, upright

bolt upright

Precisely perpendicular, erect in carriage, as in She sat bolt upright in her pew. This expression was used in slightly different form by Chaucer in the late 1300s: "She was ... long as a mast and upright as a bolt" ( The Miller's Tale).

See also: bolt, upright

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bolt ˈupright

with your back very straight in an upright position: The noise woke her suddenly and she sat bolt upright in bed.

See also: bolt, upright

bolt upright

In a rigidly vertical position: sat bolt upright.

See also: bolt, upright

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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