What does shoestring mean?
A shoestring is a lace used to fasten a shoe. The word also carries a familiar figurative meaning: a “shoestring budget” is a very small budget, and an activity conducted “on a shoestring” is done with limited money or resources. This figurative use suggests that the undertaking is being managed with economy, improvisation, and very little spare capacity. In everyday speech, people may say that an event was organized on a shoestring, that a company operates on a shoestring, or that someone tied, adjusted, or replaced a shoestring. The literal object is common in American English, whereas “shoelace” is often preferred in British English for the lace itself. Both the concrete and figurative senses remain natural and easily understood across varieties of English.
A lace or cord used to fasten a shoe; by extension, a very small amount of money or resources.
"The stage was set on a shoestring, using borrowed equipment."
Informal, involving or based on a very small budget or limited resources.
"They managed to mount the production with a shoestring budget."
The plural is used for individual shoe laces; the figurative sense is commonly expressed in fixed phrases such as “on a shoestring.”
"He kept several spare shoestrings in his bag."
From a literal shoe-lace to a metaphor for doing something on a tight budget, “shoestring” turns an ordinary piece of string into a symbol of limited resources.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of shoestring
“Shoestring” is a compound formed from “shoe” and “string,” literally describing the cord used to fasten a shoe. The compound developed both as a name for a shoelace and, more figuratively, as a term for a very small amount of money. The related word “shoelace” follows the same compounding pattern, joining “shoe” and “lace,” while “shoe” and “string” remain the transparent elements of the modern word.
Related word forms
How shoestring is actually used
The expression “on a shoestring” is widely understood in both British and American English. In American English, “shoestring” is also common for a shoelace, while “shoelace” is generally more usual in British English. The adjective uses, such as “shoestring budget,” are informal.
Easily confused with shoestring
A shoelace is specifically a lace used to fasten a shoe, while a shoestring can also mean a very small budget or amount of resources.
A string is a general thin cord or line, whereas a shoestring is a cord specifically associated with fastening a shoe.