white-shoe

American

[hwahyt-shoo, wahyt] / ˈʰwaɪtˈʃu, ˈwaɪt /

adjective

of or relating to members of the upper class who own or run large corporations.

white-shoe bankers; a conservative white-shoe image.

Etymology

Origin of white-shoe

First recorded in 1975–80; apparently from the white shoes popular as moderately formal wear among suburban men c1980

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.

The future Goldman Sachs CEO’s shirt collars were popping out—a no-no in his buttoned-up white-shoe law office.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

By owning their own buildings, white-shoe firms can maintain their properties in their own image.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

These involve some of the big white-shoe conservative law firms, Consovoy McCarthy and others in D.C.

From Salon • Aug. 16, 2024

It turns out that one of America’s best known white-shoe law firms, WilmerHale, was intricately involved.

From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2023

“Among my classmates at Harvard, the thing that bright young guys did was securities work or tax,” another white-shoe partner remembers.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023