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
Matt Donnelly, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
Bethune-Cookman’s baseball team plays in the second-weakest conference in Division I, runs on a shoestring budget and its home games draw an average of 87 fans.
—Eric Olson, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2026
Erik Kirschbaum, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2021
Recent polls show that public opinion of Trump is souring as former Vice President Joe Biden pulls ahead in crucial swing states, despite a shoestring campaign and self-confinement to his Delaware home.
—Justin Sink, Bloomberg.com, 12 May 2020
See All Example Sentences for shoestring
Noun
His brand is scrappy, by-the-skin-of-our-teeth filmmaking with shoestring budgets and, in early days, iPhones serving as film cameras.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
Bethune-Cookman’s baseball team plays in the second-weakest conference in Division I, runs on a shoestring budget and its home games draw an average of 87 fans.
—Eric Olson, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
The nonpartisan Wahl-O-Mat runs on a shoestring annual budget of 100,000 euros, or $120,000, with just three staff members under the aegis of the federal agency for civic education (BPB), Pamela Brandt, project manager since 2004, said in an interview.
—Erik Kirschbaum, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2021
Recent polls show that public opinion of Trump is souring as former Vice President Joe Biden pulls ahead in crucial swing states, despite a shoestring campaign and self-confinement to his Delaware home.
—Justin Sink, Bloomberg.com, 12 May 2020
See All Example Sentences for shoestring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoestring
Noun
-
The executive branch does not have a dime of money in its own right.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 May 2026
-
Only minutes before, the friend had playfully tossed dime-sized hail at them in the house.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Behind him is the spindly figure of a man astride a bicycle, standing before skeletal, half-visible trees.—
Taran Dugal,
New Yorker,
23 May 2026
-
A bit on the spindly side (6-foot, 170 pounds), Reichel’s problem through his young career has been finding the inside ice.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
The end product is usually tough, dry, and stringy.—
Rebecca Firkser,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 May 2026
-
Finally, dingy, discolored, or stringy towels need to get the heave-ho.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, her eyes were accentuated with stone shadow on the lids and wispy falsies on the top line.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
22 May 2026
-
Dark, wispy clouds floated through the air, looking close enough to reach up and touch, moving but never rotating quite enough to touch the ground.—
Emily Holshouser
May 19,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
Their twiggy legs and bony frames exposed in bathing suits, the kids do indeed look extra vulnerable within the film’s savage landscape.—
Beatrice Loayza,
Variety,
25 May 2026
-
Hummingbirds need the safety of shrubs and twiggy trees to perch on.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
21 May 2026
Adjective
-
Chris Brazzell, the team’s third-round pick, is a long, lanky wideout with notable downfield speed.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
27 May 2026
-
That March day at Wembley, lanky, aggressive centre-half Jack Charlton was positioned next to Arsenal ’keeper Jim Furnell.—
Michael Walker,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Moss-colored chaise longues in the living area, piled with pillows and wool blankets, are perfectly positioned to take in the view, as are the four-poster beds with wool-blend mattresses and willowy gauzy curtains.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
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Given the differences in Western and Eastern beauty standards, and the realities of setting a romance in the hockey world, neither Shane nor Ilya fit the mold of BL’s feminine, willowy bishonen.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
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Firm if slightly sweaty handshake notwithstanding, there’s a gentleness to Root; old-school manners, slender shoulders and a reedy Sheffield twang.—
James Wallace,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shoestring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoestring. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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