I. ˈshü noun
( plural shoes -üz)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English sho, shoo, from Old English scōh; akin to Old High German scuoh shoe, Old Norse skōr, Gothic skohs shoe, Old English hȳd hide, skin — more at hide
1.
a. : an outer covering for the human foot usually made of leather, with a thick or stiff sole and an attached heel: as
(1) : an outer foot covering reaching to the ankle or thereabouts
(2) : a low-cut outer foot covering — compare boot , oxford
(3) : a foot covering with a leather sole and heel and an upper covering at least the instep for wear outdoors — compare overshoe , slipper
b. : a metal plate or rim usually made or iron and nailed to the hoof of an animal to protect it from injury or to assist it in obtaining a foothold ; specifically : horseshoe
2. : an object or device placed at the bottom, foot, or end of or beneath an object: as
a. : a socket or ferrule of iron or other material to protect the point of a wooden pile, pole, cane, or staff
b. : a metal socket or plate to take a thrust (as of a strut, rafter, or jack)
c. : a band of iron or steel or a slip of wood fastened to the bottom of the runner of a vehicle (as a sleigh) that slides on the snow or ice
d. : the removable iron or steel tip of a stamp in a set of stamps for crushing ore
e. : a steel cutting edge attached to the bottom of a caisson or lining in sinking a drop shaft
f. : the part of a bridge supporting the superstructure and bearing on a bearing plate or roller nest upon the supporting pier or abutment
g. : a small molding or strip placed in the angle between a baseboard and the floor of a room
h.
(1) : an often disk-shaped turned or shaped termination on furniture legs used especially during the 17th and early 18th centuries
(2) : a metal, glass, or rubber cap or cup placed upon or under a furniture leg for protection or ornament
i. : a strong piece of paper or cardboard upon which standing type matter is sometimes placed for storage
j. : a wooden block or other device placed under an object to steady or support it or provide traction
ladder shoe
k. : a ground plate that forms or is attached to a link of a traction belt on a caterpillar tractor
3. shoes plural : economic, social, or hierarchical status or position or a vantage point for regarding events or circumstances in a particular perspective
next in line of succession for my boss's shoes — F.S.Mitchell
— usually used in such phrases as in another's shoes
had never taken even two minutes to try to put himself in a woman's shoes — Louis Auchincloss
4. : a device serving as a trough or spout: as
a. : a trough or spout for conveying grain from a hopper to the eye of a millstone
b. : a trough-shaped or spout-shaped member at the foot of a water leader that directs the water outward
c. : an inclined trough in an ore-crushing mill to secure steady feeding
5. : a device covering or jacketing an object (as for protection)
propeller shoes for ice protection — Flying
as
a. : a steel strip on the bottom of the keel of a boat
b. : tire
6. : a gold or usually silver ingot suggestive of a Chinese shoe in shape formerly used in China as money : a piece of sycee
7. : a device that retards, stops. or controls the motion of an object
the friction shoes engage the inner surface of the flywheel — Mech. Engineering
clutch shoe
as
a. : drag 3a(2)
b. : the part of a brake that presses on the wheel of a wagon or other vehicle to retard its motion
c. : one of usually two metal pieces lined with a frictional material that presses upon a brake drum to retard its motion — see hydraulic brake illustration
8. : any of various devices, members, or attachments that are inserted in or run along a track, channel, or groove to guide a movement, provide a contact or friction grip, or protect against wear, damage, or slipping: as
a. : a runner in the sash channel of a window or at the base of a door (as a metal fire door)
b. : the sliding contact member of a current collector
a third-rail shoe of a subway car
c. : gib 1
d. : a track or pad that positions or otherwise influences (as by friction) the movement of a strip of photographic film or paper in its passage through a projector (as a camera or printer)
9. : a wedge-shaped furrow opener used on some grain drills and on corn and cotton planters
10. : the end of a dynamo pole usually curved to conform to the arc of the armature and shaped to distribute the flux peripherally
11. : a flat metal plate in a pressing machine or a concave metal plate in a mangle that is usually heated by electricity and pressed against the buck or roller
12. : a case designed to hold three or more packs of cards so that the top card may be pulled out singly and used in baccarat or chemin de fer
II. transitive verb
( shod ˈshäd ; also shoed ; shod ˈshäd ; also shoed ˈshüd ; or shod·den ˈshäd ə n ; shoeing ; shoes )
Etymology: Middle English shoen, shooen, from Old English scōgian, scōgan, scōan, from scōh, n.
1. : to put a shoe on : furnish with a shoe
who will shoe your pretty little foot
mules were much easier shod — W.F.Harris
2. : to cover for protection, strength, or ornament with harder or handsomer material
a pole shod with an iron tip — K.A.Henderson
3. : to cover with or as if with a shoe
fragments of hard rock with which the glacier was shod — W.J.Miller
4. : to fit a tire to (a wheel of a vehicle)