1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

shoestring 1 of 2

noun

ˈshü-ˌstriŋ How to pronounce shoestring (audio)
Definition of shoestringnext
as in dime
a very small sum of money trying to start a business on a shoestring

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

shoestring

2 of 2

adjective

as in spindly

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shoestring
Noun
The team was operating on a shoestring budget and simply couldn’t afford to upgrade its car. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026 Zhang built and launched Cara on a shoestring as a place where artists could share work in an environment where no consent could plausibly be implied. — Rob Salkowitz, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Adjective
First-time customer Regan Hau ate the chili alongside a basket of shoestring french fries, an item Waite said Town Topic didn’t offer until the ‘80s. — Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2025 Shot on a shoestring $2 million budget from private financing by Altavista Films — a rarity in late-’90s Mexico where most movies were still state-subsidized — Amores Perros was edited by Iñárritu himself, in his home, over several grueling months. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for shoestring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoestring
  1. dime
  2. spindly
  3. stringy
  4. wispy
  5. twiggy
  6. lanky
  7. willowy
  8. reedy
Noun
  • Bills debut their dime look The Bills used a pretty specific third-down grouping for most of the game.
    — Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The term most commonly applies to pre-1965 dimes, quarters and half dollars, which were minted with 90% silver.
    — Amy DeYoung, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of dime
Adjective
  • The front door opens to a wall of giant spindly cacti masking large south-facing windows.
    — Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Slowly, the Royal Prince of Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia gets to his feet and places his spindly arms around the barman, who is old enough to be his father.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of spindly
Adjective
  • Colman, in stringy auburn hair, makes a crisply delectable antagonist (who is really, of course, on Ian’s side).
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • If using a Satsuma, peel it by hand, remove any particularly thick, stringy bits or pieces of pith, and then cut it into similar shapes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of stringy
Adjective
  • Prompts for bangs are up 60 percent as a category, led by wispy bangs (up 260 percent) and curtain bangs (up 100 percent), alongside a rise in more dramatic cuts like bobs and pixie cuts.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The wispy brow-skimming strands cover still cover the forehead while blending seamlessly into her tousled waves thanks to face-framing layers that fan out toward her cheekbones.
    — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of wispy
Adjective
  • Prune away small twiggy growth and dead, diseased, or crossing canes.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Remove any twiggy branches that are thinner than a pencil, branches that cross each other, and all dead or diseased branches.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 16 July 2026
Definition of twiggy
Adjective
  • Verity ultimately transforms into a tall, lanky monster chasing ThatMob in the dark.
    — Owen Carry, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Mukhamadullin, a lanky 6-4 Russian, is the X-factor as a newcomer from the San Jose Sharks.
    — Janson Duench, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of lanky
Adjective
  • However, the primary reason for these willowy airfoils is entirely practical.
    — David Szondy August 04, New Atlas, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Cosmos Cosmos help create an ethereal-looking garden, thanks to their long, willowy stems and bright, fluffy blooms that come in dozens of vibrant colors, from rich chocolate cosmos to delicate ‘Apricotta’ tones.
    — Melissa Epifano, The Spruce, 8 July 2026
Definition of willowy
Adjective
  • The prosecutor, Johann Frischman, laid out, in a reedy voice, the criminal complaint.
    — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Among those acolytes is Lucien (Jérémy Gillet), a reedy, repressed young virgin who yearns to be part of the gay community but hasn’t the courage to come out to his domineering mother Christine (Elisabeth Wiener), who also just happens to be the country’s very right-wing health minister.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 May 2026
Definition of reedy

Browse Nearby Words

shoes
shoestring
shone
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Shoestring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoestring. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of elegiac

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All