bolt1 (bolt)

[= Sc. boult, bout, bowt; Angry Cupid, bolting from her eyes, Hath shot himself into me like a flame. B. Jonson, Volpone, ii. 2. This Puck seems but a dreaming dolt, And oft out of a bush doth bolt . Drayton , Nymphidia. 2. To spring aside or away suddenly; start and run off; make a bolt. Stage-coaches were upsetting in all directions, horses were bolting , boats were overturning, and boilers were bursting. Dickens . The gun, absolutely the most usele weapon among us, could do nothing, even if the gunners did not bolt at the first sight of the enemy. O'Donovan, Merv, x. for fastening a door, gate, 3. In politics, to withdraw from a nominating Door-bolt. window-sash, or the like; specifically, that portion of a lock which is protruded from or drawn back within the case by the action of the key, and IMG:content-2289.png:[blocks in formation] or keeper.-7. An iron to fasten the legs of a prisoner; a shackle. Away with him to prison, lay bolts enough upon him. Shak., M. for M., v. 1. 8. In firearms: ( a ) In a needle-gun, the sliding piece that thrusts the cartridge forward into the chamber and carries the firing-pin. It has a motion of rotation about its longer axis for the purpose of locking the breech-mechanism before firing. Three pair of stays bolstered below the left shoulder. Tatler , No. 245.