lace-up

[ leys-uhp ]

/ ˈleɪsˌʌp /

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noun

anything that laces up, especially a boot with shoelaces that lace up from the vamp to the top of the boot.

adjective

having a lace that is laced up as a closure: a lace-up blouse.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of lace-up

First recorded in 1830–40; noun and adj. use of verb phrase lace up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lace-up in a sentence

More items came in time, as funding was available, like a slit-and-lace-up jacket and a line of boxer underwear.
Look Who’s Wearing The Pants: Haute Butch’s Gender-Blending Style|Nina Strochlic|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The mankles themselves were sandwiched between patterned capri pants and lace-up loafers fit for a 90's school girl.
Men Wear Heels at J.W. Anderson's London Fashion Show|Erin Cunningham|January 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That meant liquid embroidered metallics, satin lace-up skirts – and even a tweed bikini.
Jason Wu’s Softer Side|Isabel Wilkinson|September 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But Logan and the Hartnett Fancy soon have bigger things to worry about than which pair of wingtips to lace up.
Must Reads: Kennedy, Sontag and Paris, ‘A Partial History of Lost Causes,’ ‘City of Bohane,’ ‘Flatscreen’|Lauren Elkin, Mythili Rao, Drew Toal, Nicholas Mancusi|April 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Cherrie accepted the offer, rolled her lace up in a copy of the "Speckport Spouter," and started on her homeward journey.
A Changed Heart|May Agnes Fleming
The heavier lace-up boot came in during the fifties, and a very shaped type of fashion appeared in the sixties.
Dress design|Talbot Hughes
She would have liked to have slipped out of her boots and wriggled her toes but they were too hard to lace up again.
Janet Hardy in Radio City|Ruthe S. Wheeler
He opened the door a little, and pulled in his lace-up boots, which were polished in the highest style of art.
The Grey Wig: Stories and Novelettes|Israel Zangwill
I could have cried, I was so vexed; but I determined I would not give the lace up without a struggle for it.
Cranford|Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

British Dictionary definitions for lace-up

lace up

verb

(tr, adverb) to tighten or fasten (clothes or footwear) with laces

adjective lace-up

(of footwear) to be fastened with laces

noun lace-up

a lace-up shoe or boot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012