The Collaborative International Dictionary
Booster \Boost"er\ (b[=oo]st"[~e]r), n.
(Elec.) An instrument for regulating the electro-motive force in an alternating-current circuit; -- so called because used to ``boost'', or raise, the pressure in the circuit.
an enthusiastic supporter.
the first stage of a multistage rocket, providing all or part of the driving force at lift-off and until the second stage ignites, whether or not the booster stage is detached after the fuel is spent. Also called booster rocket. In some cases, a booster has been used to assist the takeoff of airplanes.
(Med.) an immunizing medication given after an initial immunizing treatment, to provide increased or extended immunity. Also called booster dose. When in the form of an injection, it may be called a booster shot.
any auxiliary device or part of a device to provide increased power, force, or effectiveness, as with a pumping device.
(Mil.) an explosive charge which is more powerful than a primer, used in conjunction with a primer to assure detonation of the main charge. Integrated blasting caps containing separate compartments for primer and booster are used as detonators for certain explosives.
Wiktionary
n. A dose of an antigen designed to strengthen immunity after an earlier immunizing dose.
WordNet
n. an additional dose that makes sure the first dose was effective [syn: booster, booster dose, recall dose]
Usage examples of "booster shot".
Do we have any plasma in stock from someone we know had a tetanus booster shot?
He had a vet's tag clipped to one ear certifying that he'd received a booster shot.
Oser was fortified with a booster shot of fast-penta and propped up at the head of the table like a stuffed and smiling corpse.
Yetta ran down the list: a woman with a skin fungus they'd been fighting for weeks, another woman bringing in her baby for a booster shot, a man with a cough, another man - a diabetic - with an abscess on his leg, a woman with belly pain, a man with belly pain.
Rick wasn't sure what he was going to say next, but the sudden arrival of Robotech mecha on the scene was a booster shot to his confidence.
We've given him a broad spectrum booster shot that will help stabilize him, but there's no telling how long that will last.
He'd sounded enraged and impatient and on the verge of foolishness, all of which had helped to cool Caliato's own growing restlessness, reassert his belief in patience, but that booster shot, too, was fading now.