bootblack

[ boot-blak ]

noun

1. a person who shines shoes and boots boot boots for a living.

bootblack

/ ˈbuːtˌblæk /

noun

1. another word for shoeblack

Word History and Origins

Origin of bootblack¹

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; boot ¹ + black

Example Sentences

We don’t think of the thousand other bootblacks who will not meet their benefactors, boys whom the text dismisses as ruffians or ne’er-do-wells or simply never acknowledges at all.

From New York Times

Some bootblacks sat together under a tree talking to a soldier.

From Literature

His pleasure in the attentions of the bootblack’s whisk reflected a consciousness about clothes unusual in a small-town man.

From Literature

He forced himself to remember the dullest things he knew—bootblack, an application form, a wet towel on his bedroom floor.

From Literature

At the corner two bootblacks caught me, one on either side, shrill and raucous, like blackbirds.

From Literature