What does "boston" mean?
In the card game spades, a bid of all 13 tricks.
Boston
/ˈbɔstən/ name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: In the card game spades, a bid of all 13 tricks.
- Grammar: boston is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: blackjack, bridge, city, family name.
- Useful contrasts: countryside, given name, rural area.
- Usage evidence: How many flights to Boston do you offer a day?
How to use "boston"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "boston" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "boston" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "boston" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "boston" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "boston" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "blackjack" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "boston", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 In the card game spades, a bid of all 13 tricks.
- 2 A Boston lettuce.
Proper Noun
- 1 A town and borough in Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref TF3244).
- 2 A number of places in the United States:; The capital and largest city of Massachusetts, the informal capital of New England, and the county seat of Suffolk County.
"There are faculty advisers on El’s theater crew who balk at using “they” for one person; classmates at El’s public school on the outskirts of Boston who insist El can’t be “multiple people”; and commenters on El’s social media feeds who dismiss nonbinary gender identities like androgyne (a combination of masculine and feminine), agender (the absence of gender) and gender-fluid (moving between genders) as lacking a basis in biology."
- 3 A number of places in the United States:; An inactive township in Madison County, Arkansas.
- 4 A number of places in the United States:; A township in Washington County, Arkansas.
- 5 A number of places in the United States:; A city in Georgia; named for Thomas M. Boston, who found a medicinal spring near the town site.
Show 24 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States:; A township and town therein, in Wayne County, Indiana; named for the city in Massachusetts.
- 7 A number of places in the United States:; A neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky.
- 8 A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Nelson County, Kentucky.
- 9 A number of places in the United States:; A township in Ionia County, Michigan.
- 10 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Missouri; named for the city in Massachusetts.
- 11 A number of places in the United States:; A town in New York; named for the city in Massachusetts.
- 12 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Belmont County, Ohio.
- 13 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Highland County, Ohio; named for the city in Massachusetts.
- 14 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Licking County, Ohio.
- 15 A number of places in the United States:; A township and unincorporated community therein, in Summit County, Ohio; named for the city in Massachusetts.
- 16 A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Pennsylvania.
- 17 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community, the county seat of Bowie County, Texas.
- 18 A number of places in the United States:; A census-designated place in Accomack County, Virginia.
- 19 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Culpeper County and Rappahannock County, Virginia.
- 20 A town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
- 21 A town in South Australia.
- 22 A municipality of the Philippines.
- 23 A village in County Clare, Ireland.
- 24 A village in Kyrgyzstan.
- 25 A settlement in Belize.
- 26 A settlement in Suriname.
- 27 An eighteenth-century trick-taking card game for four players, with two packs of fifty-two cards each.
- 28 A habitational surname transferred from the place name.
- 29 A male given name transferred from the place name or surname. rare
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"How many flights to Boston do you offer a day?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "boston"?
Common synonyms include: blackjack, bridge, city, family name, game, last name.
How do you use "boston" in a sentence?
How many flights to Boston do you offer a day?
How do you pronounce "boston"?
Pronounced /ˈbɔstən/.
Etymology
The US city is named after the English town (from which several prominent colonists had come), which itself is sometimes said to be named as a contraction of Botolph's town or Botolph's stone (the name Botolph itself coming from Old English Botwulf, from boda + wulf). However, this is uncertain.