shoeshine
Americannoun
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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
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.
And while Kennedy got out in time, his bootblack-adviser, Gennaro Pasquale “Patrick” Bologna, lost everything—except his shoeshine stand.
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
Dang Xuan Teo, one of several former North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong interviewed in the docuseries, recalls how he disguised himself as a shoeshine boy to scout details for an attack on the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 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
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.
