as in dime
a very small sum of money
trying to start a business on a shoestring
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in spindly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shoestring
Kyle J. Russell, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
The movie’s success is the culmination of a career that’s seen Baker make the most of shoestring budgets and film whole movies on an iPhone.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2025
Jennifer Epstein, Bloomberg.com, 7 May 2020
In Greater Cincinnati, a mighty, mostly volunteer needle-exchange effort on a shoestring budget started in 2014.
—Terry Demio, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for shoestring
Noun
Lincoln University’s basketball program had long been in the shadows, operating on a shoestring budget with minimal local following.
—Kyle J. Russell, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
The movie’s success is the culmination of a career that’s seen Baker make the most of shoestring budgets and film whole movies on an iPhone.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
In 2016, the Trump campaign relied on stadium rallies, TV appearances and social media to compensate for its shoestring budget and thin staffing.
—Jennifer Epstein, Bloomberg.com, 7 May 2020
In Greater Cincinnati, a mighty, mostly volunteer needle-exchange effort on a shoestring budget started in 2014.
—Terry Demio, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for shoestring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoestring
Noun
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Hayes also said her family hasn’t seen a dime of the money that was raised through the platform GiveSendGo.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 Apr. 2025
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Other support characters bring forth veteran presence on top of a highly functional scenic design by Heather Kenyon that leaves lots of open space for the cast to bound in and out of doors that fly open on a dime.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Add pops of red to a neutral space or a spindly chair to capture cottage chic in your room.—
Nora Colomer,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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When growing basil indoors on a sunny windowsill, give pots a quarter turn weekly to expose all sides to the sun and ensure seedlings won't be pale and spindly.—
Sheryl Geerts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Their pads look deflated compared to the life rafts strapped to goalies today, the ones that make stringy 6-foot-4 bean poles look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
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More specifically, fuzzballs and stringy supermazes have emerged as a way to solve a puzzle called the black hole information paradox.—
Clara Moskowitz,
Scientific American,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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When Wade had entered the league, baggy, untucked dress shirts and oversize suits were the style on draft night; on game days, players draped 5XL sweat suits and Mitchell & Ness throwback jerseys over their lanky frames.—
D. Watkins,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2025
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Cops recovered video of the lanky, mustachioed suspect following one of the attacks.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Just who was this willowy blond from Iowa City, Iowa?—
Gia Kourlas,
New York Times,
25 Feb. 2025
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Only two bodies remain still: Ferran’s, in one corner of the platform, and that of a young man (Jabez Sykes) diagonally across from her, tall and willowy and pale — two statues that seem moonlit while the rest of the world writhes and sweats around them.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In 2016, after a reedy Canadian professor named Jordan Peterson refused to use gender-neutral pronouns, he was taken up as a folk hero, like Galileo standing firm against the Inquisition.—
Andrew Marantz,
The New Yorker,
17 Mar. 2025
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The reedy, tree-like grass is a panda’s primary food source, especially the shoots.—
Monica Cull,
Discover Magazine,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Tour demands that players lift up their floors — and flaws — in tight moments.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
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For smaller companies or those operating with tight budgets, these costs can seem prohibitive, especially when the return on investment (ROI) is uncertain or far beyond the headlights.—
Tim Houlne,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The rangy 6-foot-4 player is considered a four-star recruit and a top 70 player in the nation, according to 247Sports.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
19 Apr. 2025
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Jacksonville Jaguars: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan — Gone is maligned general manager Trent Baalke, and so too are his parameters for building out a defense with long, rangy athletes.—
Jim Reineking,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shoestring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoestring. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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