moccasin

[ mok-uh-sin, -zuhn ]

/ ˈmɒk ə sɪn, -zən /

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noun

a heelless shoe made entirely of soft leather, as deerskin, with the sole brought up and attached to a piece of u-shaped leather on top of the foot, worn originally by the American Indians.

a hard-soled shoe or slipper resembling this, often decorated with beads.

any of several North American snakes of the genus Agkistrodon (Ancistrodon), especially the cottonmouth.

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Origin of moccasin

1605–15, Americanism;<Virginia Algonquian < Proto-Algonquian *maxkeseni

Words nearby moccasin

Mobutu Sese Seko, moby, Moby Dick, moc, Moçambique, moccasin, moccasin flower, moccasin telegraph, moccies, mocha, mocha stone

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

How to use moccasin in a sentence

Carbon-14 dating is most suited to something that lived during the last 50,000 years or something made from such organisms — the wooden shafts of arrows, the leather in a moccasin or the plant fibers used to weave fabrics or baskets.
Radiometric dating puts pieces of the past in context. Here’s how|Sid Perkins|October 5, 2021|Science News
When he stopped in Flagstaff, he visited the Museum of Northern Arizona, saw a pair of moccasins on display, and said, “Dude, those look tight!”
Six Million Steps in a 70-Pound Bear Suit|aheard|September 1, 2021|Outside Online
He listened, a little confused, trying to catch up, while he pulled off his galoshes to reveal tan suede moccasin boots.
The Stacks: The Day ‘The Big Lebowski’ Came to Life|Alex Belth|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The print of steel-rimmed hoofs showed in the soft loam as plainly as a moccasin-track in virgin snow.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair

I broke a branch and pawed the moccasin toward me and picked it up and went back to the horses.
A Virginia Scout|Hugh Pendexter
It was a brightly beaded moccasin, very small, and strangely familiar even at a distance.
A Virginia Scout|Hugh Pendexter
"Well, we came fast, but I see that we did not get here in time to help you," said Black Moccasin.
Three Sioux Scouts|Elmer Russell Gregor
Bet he never saw an orioles' nest or found a wild pink moccasin.
Patchwork|Anna Balmer Myers

British Dictionary definitions for moccasin

moccasin

/ (ˈmɒkəsɪn) /

noun

a shoe of soft leather, esp deerskin, worn by North American Indians

any soft shoe resembling this

NZ a sheepshearer's footgear, usually made of sacking

short for water moccasin

Word Origin for moccasin

C17: from Algonquian; compare Narraganset mocussin shoe

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

moccasin

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Origin of moccasin

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British Dictionary definitions for moccasin

Word Origin for moccasin