shoestring
Americannoun
-
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
-
Etymology
Origin of shoestring
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.
He finally got some funding from Norman Lear himself and shot the movie on a shoestring budget.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
The cutesy performance shtick around a shoestring variety show — imagine Pee-wee’s Playhouse without the bewitching oddity — grows wearying.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 24, 2025
"It was all done on a shoestring budget," he said.
From BBC • Sep. 23, 2025
Don’t be shy about shape or size — shoestring, steak-cut, crinkle, waffle, sweet potato — I’ll even give a pass to tater tots for the sake of this exercise.
From Salon • Sep. 16, 2025
Everything that the Nation of Islam did in those days, from Mr. Muhammad on down, was strictly on a shoestring.
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.
