bolters

Noun

bolter (plural bolters)

1. A person or thing that bolts, or runs suddenly.
   • Bolting can be one of the worst problems in dogdom to solve. We′ve all seen a bolter — or rather, we haven't seen him. We released him to hunt, and he was gone for the day, the week, the month. I′ve known of bolters to be gone for years.1992 June, Bill Tarrant, Gun Dogs: Problems with a Hunting Pattern, Field & Stream, page 104
2. A plant that grows larger and more rapidly than usual.
   • Evidence is accumulating that bolters are plants which have changed their long-day habit to that of short-day.1949, Redcliffe Nathan Salaman, The History and Social Influence of the Potato, published 2000, page 68
3. (flour milling) A machine or mechanism that automatically sifts milled flour.
   • The bolter was basically a sheet or roll of wire mesh or cloth (most often canvas or linen, but sometimes silk or another fabric). The flour produced by the mill was fed through or over the device, which was shaken by a mechanism (several were possible) taking power from the drive train leading...1983, Terry S. Reynolds, Stronger Than a Hundred Men: A History of the Vertical Water Wheel, page 138
4. A person who sifts flour or meal.
5. (petroleum refining) A filter mechanism.
   • This first bolter contains a screen of eight meshes to the inch and separates the hard particles, dirt or scale.1920, Henry Palmer Westcott, Hand Book of Natural Gas, page 634
6. (Australia) An obscure athlete who wins an upset victory.
   • Last year he was eliminated by the bolter Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and this time he was beaten by the shining star, Fernando Verdasco.2009 February 2, Todd Woodbridge, “Only a few stars head home happy”, in Herald Sun

See all 19 meanings of bolter