car bootn.
/ˈkɑː ˌbuːt/, U.S. /ˈkɑr ˌbut/ British.
1. An enclosed space at the back of a car for carrying luggage or other goods. Cf. boot n.3 4c, trunk n. 7b.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > body or bodywork > rear part > rear part arranged to carry luggage
bulk1546
boot1781
well1783
car boot1908
rumble1908
car trunk1912
trunk1931
dicky1965
1908 Autocar 19 Dec. 1014/1 A driver..only uses the tools usually found in the car boot.
1947 Manch. Guardian 21 Oct. 5/6 (heading) 95 rabbits packed in car boot..two men fined for cruelty.
1973 People's Jrnl. 4 Aug. (Inverness & Northern Counties ed.) 8/2 Miss Coldrick thinks she left the camera on the car boot.
1990 A. Beevor Inside Brit. Army xvii. 186 Every call-out has to be treated as a ‘worst possible case’. A victim's body discovered in a car boot may be booby-trapped.
2003 P. Collings in D. Chislett Urban 03 121 ‘What's all this?’ Bev asked when I opened my car boot at her place. ‘Music stuff.’
2. Short for car boot sale n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > selling > a public sale > [noun] > other types of sale
rummage sale1756
handsale1766
trade sale1774
sheriff's sale1798
private treaty1858
asset sale1921
pre-sale1938
garage sale1966
tag sale1966
yard sale1976
car boot1995
1995 Independent (Nexis) 25 June 14 The sellers of shoddy goods started on the markets, moved into car boots and now are looking for something more permanent, which is open every day.
2007 Gay Times Mar. 215/3 (advt.) Fit, healthy M, 58, likes fishing, karaoke, car boots, cycling, quiet pubs & cosy nights in.
Compounds
C1. attributive with sense ‘of, relating to, or obtained from a car boot sale’ (see car boot sale n. at Compounds 2), as car boot market, car boot merchant, etc.
ΚΠ
1985 Guardian 12 Oct. 1/4 Some of the boot sales were getting very big and commercial..and the car boot merchants were clearly depriving the council of market revenues.
1991 Dateline Mag. Jan. 39/2 (advt.) Likes animals, DIY, TV, gardening, reading, car boot markets.
1998 C. Naylor Catching Alice xvi. 161 This extraordinary vision in car-boot clothing.
2002 S. Horne & A. Maddrell Charity Shops iii. 46 Car boot fairs, where household goods and books dominate sales.
C2.
car boot sale n. an outdoor sale at which people gather to sell unwanted possessions, produce, etc., from the boots of their cars.
ΚΠ
1982 Times 30 July (Arts & Entertainment section) 11/1 Bumper car boot sale, West Meon Hut Inn, near Petersfield, Hants.
1993 Daily Mail 13 Aug. 41/3 Charity shops are now too expensive for poorer people, so please leave us the car boot sales to keep us happy.
2006 Church Times 17 Nov. 18/1 I've filled clothes-banks, been to charity shops—and even done a car-boot sale.
Derivatives
ˈcar booter n. a person who attends car boot sales; a vendor or customer at a car boot sale.
ΚΠ
1986 News (Portsmouth) 11 Sept. 13/3 Visitors can search out a good buy from the car-booters.
1995 Daily Record (Nexis) 27 Nov. 12 It's an early car-booter who catches the bargains, so hitting the venue just after 8am..was in order.
2002 S. Horne & A. Maddrell Charity Shops iii. 48 One manager..estimated that more than ten dealers or regular car-booters visited the shop each day, looking for items to sell on at profit.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1908