horseshoe
Americannoun
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a U -shaped metal plate, plain or with calks, nailed to a horse's hoof to protect it from being injured by hard or rough surfaces.
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something U -shaped, as a valley, river bend, or other natural feature.
We picnicked in the middle of a horseshoe of trees.
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(used with a singular verb) horseshoes, a game in which horseshoes or other U -shaped pieces of metal, plastic, etc., are tossed at an iron stake 30 or 40 feet (9 or 12 meters) away in order to encircle it or to come closer to it than one's opponent.
verb (used with object)
adjective
noun
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a piece of iron shaped like a U with the ends curving inwards that is nailed to the underside of the hoof of a horse to protect the soft part of the foot from hard surfaces: commonly thought to be a token of good luck
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an object of similar shape
verb
Other Word Forms
- horseshoer noun
Etymology
Origin of horseshoe
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On Saturday they adopted more of a horseshoe, with a capacity crowd of some 82,00 at Twickenham belting out a chorus of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' -- England's rugby anthem -- for good measure.
From Barron's
Project designers promise smoother travel on the elevated segments to and from the U-shaped roadway around the terminal area commonly called the horseshoe.
From Los Angeles Times
The horseshoe element has been lost and, through that, has the advantage for the home team suffered?
From BBC
Beyoncé's rodeo rumbled into London, bringing with it every country cliché you could think of - cowboy hats, horseshoes, tassels and even a gold mechanical bull.
From BBC
She rode the horseshoe back to the main stage and did “Tyrant” astride a golden mechanical bull accompanied by two bull heads on swiveling robot arms.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
