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In its most common usage, a boot is a type of footwear which covers at least the foot and usually the ankle, and sometimes extends up to the knee or even the hip. They come in every imaginable variation of height, color, material and style. Most have a heel which is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece.

Boots which are designed as protection from the elements may be made of a single closely-stitched piece (of leather, rubber, etc) to prevent the entry of water, mud or dirt through the gaps left between laces and tongue in other types of shoes.

Other types of boots are sturdy in nature, meant for protection in wilderness or industrial settings. Work boots such as Dr. Martens boots have been adopted by skinheads and punks as part of their typical dress.

Fashionable boots for women may have all the variations seen in other women's shoes: tapered or spike heels, platform soles, pointed toes, zipper closures, etc.

Boots have their own devotees among shoe fetishists and foot fetishists.

Types of boots:

• cowboy boots
• football boots
• go-go boots
• hiking boots
• kinky boots
• riding boots
• ski boots
• steel-toed boots
• tabi boots (split-toed boot)
• Wellington boots (rubber rain boots)
• ice skates, roller skates, inline skates

Other uses of the word

The word boot can also refer to:

• a vehicle boot, used to immobilize a vehicle's wheels or tires until a parking fine is paid, rather than by towing
• various torture devices used on the feet or legs; see boot (torture) and Spanish boot
• the sequence by which a computer is started (short for bootstrap). See booting.
• the compartment at the back of car in which luggage is stored (this is called the trunk in the USA).
• slang for a bootleg recording
• As a verb, meaning "to kick", or as part of the phrase "to give somebody the boot", meaning to forcibly eject somebody from a room or institution.

The plural boots may refer to:

• Boots The Chemists (founded by John Boot) -- the dominant high-street pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom. The range of products now sold by Boots far exceeds the normal stock of a pharmaceutical retailer and it is now more akin to a department store.
• A boots was a (usually very junior) servant whose particular task was the cleaning and polishing of boots and shoes.
• One of several musical albums and singles named Boots.

See also:

• Boot camp - a military training facility
• The movie Das Boot ("The Boat" in German)
• Golden Boot - a football (soccer) award
• Puss in Boots
• to boot - an idiomatic phrase meaning "as well"

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• Disambiguation pages