shoe

[ shoo ]

noun

, plural shoes, (especially British Dialect) shoon [shoon].

1. an external covering for the human foot, usually of leather and consisting of a more or less stiff or heavy sole and a lighter upper part ending a short distance above, at, or below the ankle.
2. an object or part resembling a shoe in form, position, or use.
3. a horseshoe or a similar plate for the hoof of some other animal.
4. a ferrule or the like, as of iron, for protecting the end of a staff, pole, etc.
5. brake shoe.
6. the outer casing of a pneumatic automobile tire.
7. a drag or skid for a wheel of a vehicle.
8. a part having a larger area than the end of an object on which it fits, serving to disperse or apply its weight or thrust.
9. the sliding contact by which an electric car or locomotive takes its current from the third rail.
10. Civil Engineering.
    1. a member supporting one end of a truss or girder in a bridge.
    2. a hard and sharp foot of a pile or caisson for piercing underlying soil.
11. a small molding, as a quarter round, closing the angle between a baseboard and a floor.
12. the outwardly curved portion at the base of a downspout.
13. a piece of iron or stone, sunk into the ground, against which the leaves of a gateway are shut.
14. a device on a camera that permits an accessory, as a flashgun, to be attached.
15. a band of iron on the bottom of the runner of a sleigh.
16. Cards. dealing box.
17. Furniture.
    1. a cuplike metal piece for protecting the bottom of a leg.
    2. a fillet beneath an ornamental foot, as a pad or scroll foot.
18. Printing. a box into which unusable type is thrown.
19. a chute conveying grain to be ground into flour.
20. Carpentry. soleplate.
21. Nautical. a thickness of planking covering the bottom of the keel of a wooden vessel to protect it against rubbing.

verb (used with object)

, shod or shoed, shod or shoed or shod·den, shoe·ing.

1. to provide or fit with a shoe or shoes.
2. to protect or arm at the point, edge, or face with a ferrule, metal plate, or the like.

shoe

/ ʃuː /

noun

1. 1. one of a matching pair of coverings shaped to fit the foot, esp one ending below the ankle, having an upper of leather, plastic, etc, on a sole and heel of heavier leather, rubber, or synthetic material
   2. ( as modifier )

      shoe cleaner

2. anything resembling a shoe in shape, function, position, etc, such as a horseshoe
3. a band of metal or wood on the bottom of the runner of a sledge
4. (in baccarat, etc) a boxlike device for holding several packs of cards and allowing the cards to be dispensed singly
5. a base for the supports of a superstructure of a bridge, roof, etc
6. a metal collector attached to an electric train that slides along the third rail and picks up power for the motor
7. engineering a lining to protect from and withstand wear See brake shoe pile shoe
8. be in a person's shoes informal.
   to be in another person's situation

verb

1. to furnish with shoes
2. to fit (a horse) with horseshoes
3. to furnish with a hard cover, such as a metal plate, for protection against friction or bruising

Other Words From

• shoeless adjective
• re·shoe verb (used with object) reshod reshoeing
• under·shoe noun
• un·shoed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shoe¹

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English scho(o), Old English sceō(h), cognate with German Schuh, Old Norse skōr, Gothic skōhs; (verb) Middle English schon, Old English scōg(e)an, cognate with Middle Low German schoi(g)en, Old Norse skūa

Word History and Origins

Origin of shoe¹

Old English scōh; related to Old Norse skōr, Gothic skōhs, Old High German scuoh

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. drop the other shoe, to complete an action or enterprise already begun.
2. fill someone's shoes, to take the place and assume the obligations of another person:

   She felt that no stepmother could ever hope to fill her late mother's shoes.

3. in someone's shoes, in a position or situation similar to that of another:

   I wouldn't like to be in his shoes.

4. the shoe is on the other foot, the circumstances are reversed; a change of places has occurred:

   Now that we are rich and they are poor the shoe is on the other foot.

5. where the shoe pinches, the true cause of the trouble or worry.

More idioms and phrases containing shoe

In addition to the idiom beginning with shoe , also see comfortable as an old shoe ; fill someone's shoes ; goody-two-shoes ; if the shoe fits ; in someone's shoes ; step into someone's shoes ; wait for the other shoe to drop .

Example Sentences

The guy “is literally worse than the gum on the bottom of my shoe,” Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, told CNN on Wednesday.

From Salon

While sales of summer shoe styles were washed out by wetter weather, "we had a very encouraging start to sales of our Autumn/Winter ranges," it said.

From BBC

One of the videos was screenshotted and reposted to X. The YouTube Short featured a meme of a cartoon figure examining the bottom of his shoe, saying he "stepped in s**t."

From Salon

Unsanitary facilities can cause contamination, but the bacteria can also be introduced through raw ingredients, water, soil tracked into a plant on a worker’s shoe and even incoming air, said Brian Schaneberg, executive director at the Institute for Food Safety and Health at Illinois Institute of Technology.

From Los Angeles Times

The windy conditions helped fuel the 4,836-acre Shoe fire in Northern California’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• boot
• cleat
• cowboy boot
• loafer
• pump
• running shoe
• slipper
• sneaker
• tennis shoe