as in dime
a very small sum of money
trying to start a business on a shoestring
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in spindly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shoestring
Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Only a handful of ecosystem restoration projects were attempted, hampered by shoestring budgets.
—Pamela McElwee, The Conversation, 28 Apr. 2025
Jennifer Epstein, Bloomberg.com, 7 May 2020
In Greater Cincinnati, a mighty, mostly volunteer needle-exchange effort on a shoestring budget started in 2014.
—Terry Demio, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for shoestring
Noun
Peanuts, but important peanuts — especially for rural and tribal libraries that function on shoestring budgets.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Only a handful of ecosystem restoration projects were attempted, hampered by shoestring budgets.
—Pamela McElwee, The Conversation, 28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
In 2016, the Trump campaign relied on stadium rallies, TV appearances and social media to compensate for its shoestring budget and thin staffing.
—Jennifer Epstein, Bloomberg.com, 7 May 2020
In Greater Cincinnati, a mighty, mostly volunteer needle-exchange effort on a shoestring budget started in 2014.
—Terry Demio, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for shoestring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shoestring
Noun
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Tax policy can turn on a dime–that’s been made clear as the House and Senate hashed through the Big, Beautiful Bill.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
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Sixpenny Loula sofa Sixpenny Neva round daybed Sixpenny Aria leather ottoman Sixpenny Pisces coffee table Wayfair If your mission is to design on a dime, Wayfair will check that box.—
Erika Owen,
Vogue,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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Planting sun-loving plants in a shady site usually results in plants with spindly growth and few, if any, flowers.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2025
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But the tall, spindly lander face-planted in a crater near the moon's south pole and was declared dead within hours.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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The Reason For The Trash Can Littering the ground in stringy piles were tufts of corn silk and discarded corn husks.—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
8 June 2025
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Two pairs of the 30 toads recently bred and laid thousands of eggs in long, stringy, gelatinous sacs that days later morphed into tiny tadpoles.—
Adriana Pérez,
Chicago Tribune,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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And there are other possibilities, especially at the center position, like Soo Greyhound Brady Martin, the Brandon Wheat Kings’ lanky pivot Roger McQueen, Moncton’s Caleb Desnoyer and even Boston College’s James Hagens, who was projected to go first overall at the start of the season.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
6 June 2025
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Repeatability isn’t always the easiest thing for tall pitchers, but Lagrange seems to be maximizing his lanky frame thus far.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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Her willowy frame takes a tremendous battering as brutes slam her into tables and through walls.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
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Just who was this willowy blond from Iowa City, Iowa?—
Gia Kourlas,
New York Times,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And Topo Gigio had a very distinctive voice, high and reedy.—
Dan Shanoff,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
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In 2016, after a reedy Canadian professor named Jordan Peterson refused to use gender-neutral pronouns, he was taken up as a folk hero, like Galileo standing firm against the Inquisition.—
Andrew Marantz,
The New Yorker,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Money was tighter than a banjo string around the Carter house at that time.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2025
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These sessions yielded bright, radio-friendly tracks that emphasized tight horn sections, group vocals and a polished sound.—
Jose Valentino Ruiz,
The Conversation,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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At his best the rangy Siakam, the Eastern Conference Finals MVP against the Knicks, calls to mind a slightly smaller Kevin Durant.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
4 June 2025
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The rangier types can be cut back each year to maintain an attractive form.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shoestring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoestring. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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