bolt upright

1. Precisely perpendicular, erect in carriage, as in She sat bolt upright in her pew. This expression was used in slightly different form by Chaucer in the late 1300s: “She was ... long as a mast and upright as a bolt” (The Miller's Tale).

Example Sentences

In fact, trying to hold yourself bolt upright all day could do more harm than good, he told Morning Live.

From BBC

Ms Woods said Mr Skripal was conscious and sat “bolt upright” on a bench, Ms Woods said.

From BBC

Actress Tuppence Middleton says she has "woken up bolt upright in the middle of the night" since rehearsals began for her latest play.

From BBC

“As soon as I started reading it, I sat bolt upright. I didn’t think it would be that good.”

From New York Times

When middle-class visitors were finally accorded seats, Wilmore said, theaters preserved their old sightlines by forcing the sitters bolt upright — “part of that Victorian strictness in all areas: ‘You jolly well better sit up and listen!’”

From New York Times

Related Words

• perpendicular 
• steep