这个词相当常见，我在以前的每日一词的例子里以及看过的TE文章里看到过boost。我就好奇它具体的意思。

认识这个词

英英： to increase the force, power, or amount of (something)
例子： One company's innovation has proven to boost the entire industry.

体会这个词

“boost”既是名词也是动词，作为名词或动词都可以表示“使增长；推动；改进；使兴旺”。今天要学的是动词用法。表示“增长”时，可以代替increase或raise；表示“改进”，可以代替improve；表示“增强”时，可以代替strengthen。
比如农场小麦收成增长了25%，可以说：

The farm has boosted [=increased] wheat production by 25 percent.

再比如文章里讨论了许多方法可以增强人们的免疫系统。

The article discusses a number of ways people can boost [=strengthen] their immune systems.

TE这本杂志里也经常用这个词。

讲巴西改革的文章里：

His "management shock", carried out by a team of able technocrats, involved cutting costs, boosting tax revenues, setting performance targets, capping public-sector pay and leaving 3,000 jobs unfilled rather than handing them over to political placemen.

讲英国预算：

Last month a long-delayed white paper on the chronic shortage of housing, an area with plenty of good, but unpopular, solutions, failed to endorse the big ideas needed to boost housebuilding.

讲澳大利亚经济时：
Their six-figure salaries boosted the local enconomy.

在最近看的一本书How to fail at almost everything and still win big里，这个单词出现了16次，当然包括它的名词用法。

If you look at any individual action that boosts your personal energy, it might look like selfishness.

搭配

• [搭配]ADV.
  considerably, greatly, substantially 大大提高；有力地促进
• [搭配]VERB + BOOST
  help (to) 帮助提高:
  The new service helped boost pre-tax profits by 10%.
  新服务令税前利润提高了10%。
• [搭配]PREP.
  to 提高到:
  The total was boosted to nearly ￡200by donations from parents.
  家长捐款使得总金额提高到将近200英镑。