horseshoe

noun

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horse·shoe | \ ˈhȯrs-ˌshü

, ˈhȯrsh- \

Definition of horseshoe

1 : a usually U-shaped band of iron fitted and nailed to the rim of a horse's hoof to protect it

2 : something (such as a valley) shaped like a horseshoe

3 horseshoes plural : a game like quoits played with horseshoes or with horseshoe-shaped pieces of metal

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Examples of horseshoe in a Sentence

The lake was a horseshoe surrounded by tall pine trees.

Recent Examples on the Web The island would be shaped like a horseshoe and planted with willows and native grasses. — Greg Stanley, Star Tribune, "To protect Mississippi River dam, Army Corps may build an island near Hastings," 16 Nov. 2020 The central horseshoe made of trilithons (two upright stones topped by a lintel) and the surrounding outer ring of stones were completed around 2500 B.C. — National Geographic, "Stonehenge was part of a multi-monument complex. Here's how it fit together," 12 Nov. 2020 Yet in Dallas' court of public opinion, whether at the City Council horseshoe or in the streets, the challenge of public safety gets grossly oversimplified. — Sharon Grigsby, Dallas News, "With 224 homicides this year, Dallas must get its next police chief hire right. Here’s how to do it," 13 Nov. 2020 Florida State needs a lucky rabbit’s foot, a four-leaf clover or a horseshoe. — Matt Murschel, orlandosentinel.com, "10 things we learned during the college football weekend," 20 Sep. 2020 The Tualatin Hills AVA is shaped like a massive horseshoe. — Michael Alberty | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, "Willamette Valley wine map gets 2 new grape-growing regions: Tualatin Hills, Laurelwood District," 4 June 2020 Researchers determined that the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged from horseshoe bats rather than a biowarfare lab, and generally agreed that pangolins, rather than snakes, were the likely intermediary carriers, although some support was voiced for turtles. — Rafil Kroll-zaidi, Harper's Magazine, "Findings," 25 May 2020 In 2015, Baric and his colleagues were able to show that SARS-like viruses in Chinese horseshoe bats posed a particular threat to cause a new outbreak. — Robert Langreth, Bloomberg.com, "The Coronavirus Hunter Is Racing for Answers in a Locked-Down Lab," 8 May 2020 Scientists traced dozens of unnamed, emerging viruses to caves inhabited by horseshoe bats. — Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, "How Climate Change Is Contributing to Skyrocketing Rates of Infectious Disease," 7 May 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'horseshoe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.