I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: Middle English hors sho, from hors + sho shoe
1. : a shoe for horses usually consisting of a narrow plate of iron conformed to the rim of a horse's hoof
2. : something (as a valley or other physical feature) shaped like a horseshoe
the town … stood in the mouth of a horseshoe — John Buchan
the vast horseshoe of hills surrounding the central plains — D.G.E.Hall
3. horseshoes plural : a game like quoits played with horseshoes or with horseshoe-shaped pieces of metal which are thrown from one peg in the ground toward another 40 feet away with the object of ringing or coming close to the peg
II. transitive verb
1. : to furnish with horseshoes : put shoes on (a horse)
2. : to put in the shape of a horseshoe ; specifically : to make (an architectural arch) like a horseshoe
III. adjective
1. : shaped like a horseshoe
a horseshoe curve
the horseshoe bend of a river
2. of an arch : having an intrados that widens above the springing before narrowing to a rounded or pointed crown — see arch illustration