shoe
Pronunciation: (sh), [key]
— n., pl. v., shoes, shoon shod shoed, shod shoed shod•den, shoe•ing.
—n.
- 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.
- an object or part resembling a shoe in form, position, or use.
- a horseshoe or a similar plate for the hoof of some other animal.
- a ferrule or the like, as of iron, for protecting the end of a staff, pole, etc.
- See
- the outer casing of a pneumatic automobile tire.
- a drag or skid for a wheel of a vehicle.
- 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.
- the sliding contact by which an electric car or locomotive takes its current from the third rail.
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- a member supporting one end of a truss or girder in a bridge.
- a hard and sharp foot of a pile or caisson for piercing underlying soil.
- a small molding, as a quarter round, closing the angle between a baseboard and a floor.
- the outwardly curved portion at the base of a downspout.
- a piece of iron or stone, sunk into the ground, against which the leaves of a gateway are shut.
- a device on a camera that permits an accessory, as a flashgun, to be attached.
- a band of iron on the bottom of the runner of a sleigh.
- See
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- a cuplike metal piece for protecting the bottom of a leg.
- a fillet beneath an ornamental foot, as a pad or scroll foot.
- a box into which unusable type is thrown.
- a chute conveying grain to be ground into flour.
- soleplate.
- a thickness of planking covering the bottom of the keel of a wooden vessel to protect it against rubbing.
- to complete an action or enterprise already begun.
- 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.
- in a position or situation similar to that of another: I wouldn't like to be in his shoes.
- 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.
- the true cause of the trouble or worry.
—v.t.
- to provide or fit with a shoe or shoes.
- to protect or arm at the point, edge, or face with a ferrule, metal plate, or the like.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.