shoestring

[ shoo-string ]

/ ˈʃuˌstrɪŋ /

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See synonyms for shoestring on Thesaurus.com

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.

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Origin of shoestring

First recorded in 1610–20; shoe + string

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use shoestring in a sentence

The plot was a string of anecdotes from the senseless shootings of friends that Brinsley knew.
Alleged Cop Killer’s Blood-Soaked Screenplay|M.L. Nestel|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the string of episodes that aired before that were gripping, noble, and simply entertaining to watch.
'The Newsroom' Ended As It Began: Weird, Controversial, and Noble|Kevin Fallon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If we begin to see the other as our possession and commodity, our shoe, the shadow of our shadow, is there ever a happy outcome?
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They seem to belong to us, and then they freely go—behavior very uncharacteristic of a shadow or a shoe.
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

If I say “my shoe,” do I mean it in the same way as “my life,” or “my sister” or “my husband”?
Owning Up to Possession’s Downside|Samantha Harvey|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Aristide replaced the baby, and with a complicated arrangement of string fastened it securely to the seat.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Who has patience for the recapitulation of a string of names, when a group of faces may be placed simultaneously before him?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
This harmless image of a fierce beast Yung Pak would pull about the floor with a string by the hour.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
She plays with Captain Lovelock as a child does with a wooden harlequin, she pulls a string and he throws up his arms and legs.
Confidence|Henry James
Bondad sua, seor, I'll be sworn there is not one fit to tie the latchet of your shoe in the whole army.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various

British Dictionary definitions for shoestring

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with shoestring

shoestring

see on a shoestring.

shoestring

Origin of shoestring

Words related to shoestring

How to use shoestring in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shoestring

Other Idioms and Phrases with shoestring