horseshoe
Americannoun
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horseshoes
plural
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of horseshoe
Explanation
When you think of a horseshoe, don't picture a shoe with a sole and laces! Instead, a horseshoe is an arc-shaped piece of metal that gets nailed into the horse's hoof. Ever since humans started using horses for riding, pulling carts, and working on farms, they've found ways to guard their hooves against wear and injury. Horseshoes can be nailed onto the thick, fingernail-like hoof, or glued on. Some people consider horseshoes to be lucky symbols as well, while others enjoy the game called horseshoes, which involves throwing large horseshoes toward a metal stake in the ground.
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.
See Examples For:
I can already imagine it: point your phone at a package of ground beef and wait while a tiny animated horseshoe spins on the screen.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
He learned his birth mother was buried in a pauper’s grave at the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Santa Rosa, with “nothing to mark her grave but an upside-down horseshoe that has her name in it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Some swear it’s a walrus mustache in the style of Wilford Brimley or Teddy Roosevelt, while others argue it’s a horseshoe version like the one worn by Hulk Hogan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
The diplomats, Sherman explained, sat in a horseshoe formation and spoke one by one.
From Slate ● May 1, 2026
I bent a metal coat hanger into a horseshoe shape to fit the back of my head.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
How close is good enough for horseshoes, hand grenades and constitutional law under Bruen?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
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 ● Jun. 5, 2025
At Alisal Ranch in Solvang, kids can hang out at the bar and paint horseshoes or take a riding lesson.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
In addition to horse skulls and skeletons, the team found horseshoes.
From NewsForKids.net ● Feb. 19, 2024
A large furnace and bellows were set up at the far end of the room, complete with stacks of horseshoes and bits of iron.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
In both cases, he has accidentally horseshoed himself into spectacularly ill-informed opinions that nonetheless capture something of the contemporary zeitgeist.
From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2024
Schauffele, who led overnight and for much of the final round, failed with his 60-footer, while US Open champion Clark's 17-footer horseshoed around the hole.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2024
A second story in the Beta building — business staffers on one side, engineers on the other — is horseshoed around a hangar beneath, where multiple aircraft sit in various stages of tinkering.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 31, 2022
The three-times European Ryder Cup member missed the chance for a “mulligan” — golf terminology for a free shot — when his short bogey putt horseshoed around the hole and hit his foot.
From Reuters ● Oct. 13, 2019
Unfortunately for the 23-year-old from Forest, Va., his ball caught the left lip and horseshoed out, leaving the crowd stunned at the shockingly outcome.
From Golf Digest ● May 28, 2019
Brunner’s sister, Summer Raffo, was driving along Highway 530, on her way to a horseshoeing job.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 20, 2022
That’s out of this world, but Casey passes up the opportunity to salvage the half, his putt horseshoeing out.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 25, 2021
“There is being in running shape and there is being in horseshoeing shape,” she said.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 20, 2015
While Deborah was pregnant we lived in South Carolina so that I could go to horseshoeing school and then back to Atlanta for the birth.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2013
Her husband saved up his horseshoeing money and bought her freedom right after they were married.
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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