Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sneaker
Explanation
Athletic or casual rubber-soled shoes are called sneakers. Before you walk your neighbor's Great Dane, you'll have to take off your work shoes and put on your sneakers. You can also call sneakers tennis shoes, kicks, or running shoes, and if you're in Britain, you can call them trainers or plimsolls. Sneakers are made for exercise and sports, but they're also very popular everyday shoes because they're so comfortable. Sneaker, which is most common in the Northeast US, comes from their noiseless rubber soles, perfect for sneaking. Originally, they were called sneaks.
Vocabulary lists containing sneaker
"On Turning Ten" by Billy Collins
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"Going Green with Cameron Diaz"
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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:
In December, Edward Stack, Dick’s executive chair, said that turning around the sneaker chain would be hard work.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Dick’s Sporting Goods plummeted on weak sneaker sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Foot Locker, which Dick’s acquired in September 2025, had a harder time of it, given its greater exposure to legacy sneaker brands and its greater dependency on launch and retro products.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
WSJ | Buy Side: The stylish Mary Janes combine the elegance of a ballet flat with the comfort of a sneaker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Doug Swieteck tried to take two, but when Mrs. Bigio put her heavy and sensible shoe on his sneaker, he put the extra cup back.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
Foot Locker is dealing with challenges facing the broader athletic-shoe industry — namely, consumers who are too worried about affording basics to think about buying less essential items like sneakers, D.A.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Dick’s is also trying the change the format of Foot Locker from a wall of sneakers to clearly defined shoe categories.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
But Vietnam imports far fewer goods from the U.S.—just as Americans increasingly rely on the Southeast Asian country to keep the price of their electronics, furniture and sneakers low.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Foot Locker was also being pinched by U.S. tariffs on imports from Asia, where many sneakers are produced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
I kicked my muddy sneakers off by Gran’s front door.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
