Bolo can be, in historical order:

1. A Bolo knife, a machete used for agricultural purposes and as a weapon.
2. A slur in the US Army from the early twentieth century for recruits who could not attain an adequate degree of marksmanship. It comes from the idea that they should grab a bolo and attack hand-to-hand.
3. A Bolo punch, is a wide sweeping uppercut used in boxing.
4. A slang term for Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War, as they were not trained in professional armies and yet quite violent.
5. B-18 Bolo, a United States Army Air Corps bomber aircraft from the 1930s.
6. Bolo A type of enhanced artificially intelligent tank appearing in the science fiction of Keith Laumer. The word was vaguely taken from the US Army use.
7. Bolo, a computer game in which players battle each other with tanks.
8. BOLO is an acronym used by law enforcement for "Be On The Lookout".

There is an additional use of the term, probably not connected with any of the above:

• A Bolo tie, a decorative string with an ornament clasp worn around the neck, worn in the American West.

The term is also sometimes confused with bolas, a throwing rope with weights at both ends to entangle prey.