shoestring
Americannoun
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another word for shoelace
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informal
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a very small or petty amount of money (esp in the phrase on a shoestring )
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( as modifier )
a shoestring budget
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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
That’s where you get the skinny jeans and the shoestring for a belt, the grunge-style backpack, wearing beanies.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 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
Started on a shoestring in 1898 by a former slave, the life insurance company grew vigorously, spinning off a black-owned bank and a fire insurance company.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
