I. shoe 1 S1 W3 /ʃuː/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: scoh ]
1 . something that you wear to cover your feet, made of leather or some other strong material:
I sat down and took off my shoes and socks.
What size shoe do you take?
⇨ ↑ boot 1 (1), ↑ sandal , ↑ slipper
2 . in sb’s shoes in someone else’s situation, especially a bad one:
I wouldn’t like to be in his shoes when his wife finds out what happened.
Anyone in her shoes would have done the same thing.
Don’t be cross with them. Try to put yourself in their shoes (=imagine what it would feel like to be in their situation) .
3 . step into/fill sb’s shoes to do a job that someone else used to do, and do it as well as they did:
It’ll be hard to find someone to fill Pete’s shoes.
4 . a curved piece of iron that is nailed onto a horse’s foot SYN horseshoe
⇨ if the shoe fits, (wear it) at ↑ fit 1 (8)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ wear shoes
He was wearing smart black shoes.
▪ put your shoes on
Put your shoes on and get your coat.
▪ take your shoes off
They took off their shoes in the hallway.
▪ tie your shoes
He tied his shoes in a double knot.
▪ slip your shoes on/off (=put them on or take them off quickly or gently)
She slipped off her shoes and curled her feet up under her on the sofa.
▪ kick your shoes off (=take them off by moving your legs)
Maria kicked off her shoes and sat down.
▪ clean/polish your shoes
We used to clean our shoes every evening before we went to bed.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + shoe
▪ black/brown etc
Her shoes and handbag were brown.
▪ high-heeled shoes
You can’t walk round town all day in high-heeled shoes!
▪ sensible shoes (=flat shoes that are not very fashionable)
They were the kind of sensible shoes my mother used to make me wear.
▪ flat shoes (=with no high heel)
Flat shoes are much more comfortable for walking in.
▪ platform shoes (=with a thick base)
I found an old pair of platform shoes from the 1970s.
▪ lace-up shoes (=fastened with laces)
He bought a pair of brown leather lace-up shoes.
▪ leather/suede shoes
a pair of dark leather shoes
▪ running/jogging/training etc shoes
Get yourself a good pair of running shoes if you want to take up running.
■ phrases
▪ a pair of shoes
I need a new pair of shoes.
■ shoe + NOUN
▪ a shoe shop British English , a shoe store American English
▪ shoe polish
▪ shoe laces
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say 'put off your shoes' . Say take off your shoes .
II. shoe 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle shod /ʃɒd $ ʃɑːd/, present participle shoeing ) [transitive]
to put a ↑ horseshoe on a horse:
We took the horses to be shod.
⇨ ↑ shod