as in dime
a very small sum of money
trying to start a business on a shoestring
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in spindly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples 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
Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Currently in search of a backer, Lars operates on the proverbial shoestring.
—Tonya Blazio-Licorish, WWD, 16 Aug. 2024
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
Everything at the Brooklyn Museum is done on a shoestring.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Currently in search of a backer, Lars operates on the proverbial shoestring.
—Tonya Blazio-Licorish, WWD, 16 Aug. 2024
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
-
Glenn then attended the 2012 Senior Bowl and NFL Combine on his own dime.Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025
-
Due to Dean’s heavy workload in the other regular-season games, plus his exclusion from dime packages, there isn’t a large enough pool of plays to exclude the Cowboys and Giants games and predict further efficiency.Brooks Kubena, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
But a few Decembers ago, its branches turned into spindly things where spikes grew instead of leaves.Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
-
In a polytunnel on the Scottish island of Bute, thousands of spindly Scots pine seedlings are growing.Alexa Phillips, WIRED, 16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
In a photo Estrada used to announce a reward for his capture, Wedding had long, stringy hair that seemed to be thinning, steely blue eyes, and a beard.Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2025
-
Finally, dingy, discolored, or stringy towels need to get the heave-ho.Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Their common name is derived from their prehensile tails, some as long as three feet, which the animals use along with their disproportionately lanky limbs to grasp branches and other objects.Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 Jan. 2025
-
There might have been a little fear of a 6-6 lanky kid who was looking pretty solid.James L. Edwards III, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Michelle Troconis, the 49-year-old Venezuelan socialite who was convicted on Friday for conspiracy to commit murder, is tall, willowy, and as beautiful as a newscaster.Rich Cohen, airmail.news, 2 Mar. 2024
-
Kidman, who’s nearly six feet tall, impossibly willowy, and the precise shade of a scoop of vanilla ice cream, has never been an Everywoman.Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Chalamet sulks and talks out of the side of his mouth, picking from a grab bag of accents that vary with each scene—all of which are far more reedy and cartoonish than Dylan actually sounded in his younger days.Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 10 Dec. 2024
-
He was guided through the motions of the fry station by a reedy, goateed young man, an actual employee, who had been caught up in the candidate’s maudlin cosplay of worker solidarity.E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
In the immediate aftermath of the Chargers clinching their first playoff berth since 2022, the coach wrapped the general manager in a tight, two-armed hug in the locker room.Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
-
Her blond tresses were pulled back into a tight bun held together by a large clip.Julia Teti, WWD, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The young defenceman was rangy, wanted desperately to be a beast to play against and offered some mobility.Joshua Kloke, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
-
Trim the foliage back by half of its length or more to rein in a rangy plant.Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near shoestring
Cite this Entry
“Shoestring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoestring. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share