What’s the difference between boot and trunk?

This week we are looking at some words which can be used differently in British and American English: boot and trunk.

boot

In British English, the boot of a car is the covered space, usually at the back, where you put things such as luggage or shopping.

Is the boot open?

In American English, this part of the car is called the trunk.

We put our bags in the trunk.

A boot is also a type of shoe that covers your whole foot and the lower part of your leg.

trunk

Trunk also has other interesting uses: 

  1. The trunk of a tree is the large main stem from which the branches grow.

There were toadstools growing on fallen tree trunks.

  1. An elephant’s trunk is its very long nose that it uses to lift food and water to its mouth.

An elephant’s trunk has close to 40,000 muscles.

  1. A trunk is large, strong case or box used for storing things or for taking on a journey.

He offered to help me carry the trunk upstairs.

Find out more in our English Usage article.

This blogpost is based on Collins COBUILD English Usage, written for learners of English. For more examples of English usage points, please visit:  https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/english-usage.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.

Related Articles

Other Articles

Reported speech

When you use reported speech, the words put into the reported clause do not exactly match the words spoken. ‘I’ll leave at 8.30 on Friday.’ à She says that she will leave at 8.30 on Friday. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing you.’ à She says she’s looking forward to seeing us. Pronouns and possessive… Read More

Indirect speech

Indirect speech or reported speech reports something that was said, but does not use the actual words that the speaker uttered. Lynn asked whether Pippa had been to the new shopping mall. Pippa replied that she hadn’t, but she had heard that there were some really cool shops there. Reported speech always has two clauses. The words… Read More

Direct speech

Direct speech gives the actual words that a speaker has used. It is common in novels and other writing where the actual words of a speaker are quoted. The reporting verb may come before the words that were actually spoken, or after them, or at a natural pause inside the reported sentence. Read More