shoeshine
Americannoun
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shoeshines
plural
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an act or instance of cleaning and polishing a pair of shoes.
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the surface of a polished shoe or shoes.
noun
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the act or an instance of polishing a pair of shoes
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the appearance or shiny surface of polished shoes
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of shoeshine
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
There were no stories about actual shoeshine boys, but lots of other professions appear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
“When the shoeshine boys have tips, the stock market is too popular for its own good,” said Kennedy, who sold short and made a fortune, giving rise to an American political dynasty.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
The performance charted Lula's path from poverty as a shoeshine boy to eventually reaching the highest post in the country.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Joe Kennedy famously said it was time to get out of the market when the shoeshine boy started giving stock tips; Michael Burry was worried about strippers and strawberry pickers with investment properties.
From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2025
At first I thought it was a cop and a shoeshine boy; then there was a break in the traffic and across the sun-glaring bands of trolley rails I recognized Clifton.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
But shoeshines are still a key offering to draw people in to Leather Spa locations since they’re not available everywhere.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
Like Mesquita, Wright expects demand for shoeshines will never go away completely, because it’s more than just a transactional service.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
The tent where he slept was broken, and he was trying to flag down passersby for shoeshines to earn enough money for a new one.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 27, 2022
He decided to raffle off a lifetime supply of shoeshines.
From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2011
Some of the bandsmen would come up to the men’s room at about eight o’clock and get shoeshines before they went to work.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
