(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.
The South Africa-based telecommunications company—which is majority-owned by Vodafone Group VOD 1.43%increase; green up pointing triangle —raised its final dividend for the year ended March 31 by 21% to 4.05 rand a share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Total customers rose 5.6% to 307.2 million, while free cash flow rose 345.5% to 26.9 billion South African rand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
South Africa’s rand has surged 17% against the U.S. dollar over the last year as gold and platinum prices have risen on demand for safe-haven assets amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Shares trade up 6% at 4,844 South African rand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025
A burger at Black Steer cost at least 20 rand.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
Fellow Rand adherent Martin Anderson recruited Greenspan as an advisor to Richard M. Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Rand dubbed Greenspan “the Undertaker” for his serious manner and dark wardrobe.
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
In 1952, Greenspan met the right-wing novelist and social philosopher Ayn Rand, whose views were to have a profound influence on him.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Each day was the same: a morning run with Scythe Rand, weight training with Scythe Chomsky, and a nutritionally precise breakfast prepared by a master chef.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
