a loop at the back of a boot, used to pull it on

a technique of loading a program into a computer by means of a few initial instructions which enable the introduction of the rest of the program from an input device

the technique of starting with existing resources to create something more complex and effective

we see the creative act as a bootstrap process

get (oneself or something) into or out of a situation using existing resources

the company is bootstrapping itself out of a marred financial past