jackboot
noun
jack·boot ˈjak-ˌbüt 
1
a
: a heavy military boot made of glossy black leather extending above the knee and worn especially during the 17th and 18th centuries
b
: a laceless military boot reaching to the calf
2
: the spirit or policy of militarism or totalitarianism
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web While Wilson was crushing market freedom under the state’s remorseless jackboot, the young people of Swinging London were shagging their brains out. 
Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2022 Instead of creating same-jackboot-different-day dystopias like Logan's Run or Make Room! Madeline Ashby, Wired, 1 Dec. 2021 There’s simply no other way to characterize Waldegrave and Henderson in light of this accusation than as jackboot Jacobins with nothing to their name but fourth-rate moral fiber and an axe to grind. Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 4 Dec. 2020 But then the other shoe — or jackboot — dropped, and any celebration of Tokarczuk’s work was hijacked by a fresh controversy: The Swedish Academy awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in literature to Peter Handke. Ron Charles, Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2019 As with arguably all of the artist’s works, the naked man is unreasonably handsome; glossy jackboots of uniformed men surround him. R. Daniel Foster, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2019 As the Nazis seize power and stamp down their jackboots on Jewish communities and left-leaning intellectuals throughout Europe, many flee to the United States. Trevor Lipscombe, Time, 2 Aug. 2019 In both cases students met with jackboots, nighttime raids on their homes, torture and prison. Mary Anastasia O’grady, WSJ, 22 July 2018 The notion of Weimar implied by these comparisons stars Marlene Dietrich and features jackboots and sequins. The Economist, 8 Mar. 2018 See More
Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 6 Sep. 2022 Instead of creating same-jackboot-different-day dystopias like Logan's Run or Make Room! Madeline Ashby, Wired, 1 Dec. 2021 There’s simply no other way to characterize Waldegrave and Henderson in light of this accusation than as jackboot Jacobins with nothing to their name but fourth-rate moral fiber and an axe to grind. Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 4 Dec. 2020 But then the other shoe — or jackboot — dropped, and any celebration of Tokarczuk’s work was hijacked by a fresh controversy: The Swedish Academy awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in literature to Peter Handke. Ron Charles, Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2019 As with arguably all of the artist’s works, the naked man is unreasonably handsome; glossy jackboots of uniformed men surround him. R. Daniel Foster, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2019 As the Nazis seize power and stamp down their jackboots on Jewish communities and left-leaning intellectuals throughout Europe, many flee to the United States. Trevor Lipscombe, Time, 2 Aug. 2019 In both cases students met with jackboots, nighttime raids on their homes, torture and prison. Mary Anastasia O’grady, WSJ, 22 July 2018 The notion of Weimar implied by these comparisons stars Marlene Dietrich and features jackboots and sequins. The Economist, 8 Mar. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
1686, in the meaning defined at sense 1a