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
Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 14 May 2025
That’s important to independent filmmakers who often work on shoestring budgets and can’t wait for years to see the benefit.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 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
The owner won’t spend and the GM lacks the creativity necessary to build a winning team on a shoestring budget.
—Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 14 May 2025
That’s important to independent filmmakers who often work on shoestring budgets and can’t wait for years to see the benefit.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 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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The American supertanker doesn’t turn on a dime, and the results of this year’s 3D chess will begin to resolve this summer and autumn.—
Clem Chambers,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
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In addition, attendees received free rooms up to $654 per night, food and drinks and other perks on the charity’s dime.—
Lawrence Mower,
Miami Herald,
14 June 2025
Adjective
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Planting sun-loving plants in a shady site usually results in plants with spindly growth and few, if any, flowers.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2025
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But the tall, spindly lander face-planted in a crater near the moon's south pole and was declared dead within hours.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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The year before, the actress Rose McGowan showed up to the same award show with her then-boyfriend Marilyn Manson in a stringy dress that exposed her buttocks.—
Misty White Sidell,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2025
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The Reason For The Trash Can Littering the ground in stringy piles were tufts of corn silk and discarded corn husks.—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
8 June 2025
Adjective
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Riley is a lanky 19-year-old who stands 6-foot-8 and came in at just 185 pounds at the NBA Draft Combine.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
19 June 2025
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The lanky, 6-foot-7 fireballer made his big league debut, taking the mound against the St. Louis Cardinals, after getting called up from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on Tuesday.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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Her willowy frame takes a tremendous battering as brutes slam her into tables and through walls.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
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Just who was this willowy blond from Iowa City, Iowa?—
Gia Kourlas,
New York Times,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And Topo Gigio had a very distinctive voice, high and reedy.—
Dan Shanoff,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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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
Adjective
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Money was tighter than a banjo string around the Carter house at that time.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2025
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These sessions yielded bright, radio-friendly tracks that emphasized tight horn sections, group vocals and a polished sound.—
Jose Valentino Ruiz,
The Conversation,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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Although cornerback wasn’t necessarily a position of need, Thomas is a long, rangy player who can be effective in both the run and pass game.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2025
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On Friday night, in addition to Bech — who has no issue getting dirty in the blocking game — the Raiders added Darien Porter out of Iowa State, a rangy corner with upside (sound familiar to Carroll’s Seattle days?).—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shoestring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoestring. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.
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