shoestring

[ shoo-string ]

/ ˈʃuˌstrɪŋ /

noun

a shoelace.

a very small amount of money.

shoestrings. shoestring potatoes.

adjective

consisting of or characterized by a small amount of money: living on a shoestring budget.

Words nearby shoestring

shoemaker, shoemaker-levy 9, shoepac, shoer, shoeshine, shoestring, shoestring catch, shoestring potatoes, shoestring root rot, shoestring tackle, shoetree

Origin of shoestring

First recorded in 1610–20; shoe + string

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for shoe-string

Neither is it some bush-league Johnny-come-lately gathering with C-list speakers and a shoe-string budget.
CPAC: Come for the Crazy, Stay for the Party|Michelle Cottle|March 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Passion, which he financed and produced, grossed $370 million worldwide on a shoe-string budget of $30 million.
Mel Gibson's Downfall|Nicole LaPorte|July 12, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Say, didn't you never have to tie up your hair with a shoe-string?
The Portion of Labor|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
And Priscilla walked down the corridor swinging her note-book by its shoe-string, and opening envelops as she went.
When Patty Went to College|Jean Webster

Thorstein Hall of the Side's son stood still while all the others fled, and tied his shoe-string.
The story of Burnt Njal|Anonymous
One morning he gave me a packet of papers and a photograph—the lot tied together with a shoe-string.
Heart of Darkness|Joseph Conrad
Now it happened to Skarphedinn, as they ran down along the Fleet, that his shoe-string snapped asunder, and he stayed behind.
The story of Burnt Njal|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for shoe-string

shoestring

/ (ˈʃuːˌstrɪŋ) /

noun

another word for shoelace

informal

a very small or petty amount of money (esp in the phrase on a shoestring)
(as modifier)a shoestring budget

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

Idioms and Phrases with shoe-string

shoestring

see on a shoestring.