(in shoemaking) a strip of leather set in a shoe at the heel before the lifts are attached.
British Dialect.
a strip or long slice.
a border or margin.
shoemaking a leather strip put in the heel of a shoe before the lifts are put on
dialect
a strip or margin; border
a strip of cloth; selvage
before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch, German rand border, margin
1960–65; from Afrikaans, after The Rand ( def. ) (Witwatersrand), a major gold mining area
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Rand assigned Greenspan a nickname, “the Undertaker,” given his serious manner and because he always wore a dark suit and tie.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
He became an active member of the libertarian salon surrounding anti-government writer and philosopher Ayn Rand.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
A 2020 report from the Rand Corporation shows that over the last 40 years, the very rich have disproportionately benefited from economic growth.
From Salon • Jun. 20, 2026
A 2020 Rand Corporation study found 61% of the nearly 5,500 mentally ill inmates housed in Los Angeles County at that time were “likely appropriate candidates” for diversion.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
His exploits were closely followed in the daily newspapers like the Star and Rand Daily Mail, which had extensive coverage of Wimbledon.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
