— shoeless , adj.
/shooh/ , n. , pl. shoes , ( esp. Brit. Dial. ) shoon; v. , shod or shoed, shod or shoed or shodden, shoeing .
n.
1. an external covering for the human foot, usually of leather and consisting of a more or less stiff or heavy sole and a lighter upper part ending a short distance above, at, or below the ankle.
2. an object or part resembling a shoe in form, position, or use.
3. a horseshoe or a similar plate for the hoof of some other animal.
4. a ferrule or the like, as of iron, for protecting the end of a staff, pole, etc.
5. See brake shoe .
6. the outer casing of a pneumatic automobile tire.
7. a drag or skid for a wheel of a vehicle.
8. a part having a larger area than the end of an object on which it fits, serving to disperse or apply its weight or thrust.
9. the sliding contact by which an electric car or locomotive takes its current from the third rail.
10. Civ. Engin.
a. a member supporting one end of a truss or girder in a bridge.
b. a hard and sharp foot of a pile or caisson for piercing underlying soil.
11. a small molding, as a quarter round, closing the angle between a baseboard and a floor.
12. the outwardly curved portion at the base of a downspout.
13. a piece of iron or stone, sunk into the ground, against which the leaves of a gateway are shut.
14. a device on a camera that permits an accessory, as a flashgun, to be attached.
15. a band of iron on the bottom of the runner of a sleigh.
16. Cards. See dealing box .
17. Furniture.
a. a cuplike metal piece for protecting the bottom of a leg.
b. a fillet beneath an ornamental foot, as a pad or scroll foot.
18. Print. a box into which unusable type is thrown.
19. a chute conveying grain to be ground into flour.
20. Carpentry. soleplate.
21. Naut. a thickness of planking covering the bottom of the keel of a wooden vessel to protect it against rubbing.
22. drop the other shoe , to complete an action or enterprise already begun.
23. fill someone's shoes , to take the place and assume the obligations of another person: She felt that no stepmother could ever hope to fill her late mother's shoes.
24. in someone's shoes , in a position or situation similar to that of another: I wouldn't like to be in his shoes.
25. the shoe is on the other foot , the circumstances are reversed; a change of places has occurred: Now that we are rich and they are poor the shoe is on the other foot.
26. where the shoe pinches , the true cause of the trouble or worry.
v.t.
27. to provide or fit with a shoe or shoes.
28. to protect or arm at the point, edge, or face with a ferrule, metal plate, or the like.
[ bef. 900; (n.) ME scho ( o ), OE sceo ( h ), c. G Schuh, ON skor, Goth skohs; (v.) ME schon, OE scog ( e ) an, c. MLG schoi ( g ) en, ON skua ]