as in dime
a very small sum of money
trying to start a business on a shoestring
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as in spindly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shoestring
Will Porter, Architectural Digest, 5 Feb. 2025
The shoestring budget worried investors that U.S. companies would pull back their AI spending, which would hurt numerous companies producing elements from chips to energy, that power AI.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 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
This one easily fits in a shoestring budget and boasts some great mid-century looks, a nice combination for outfitting your home without breaking the bank.
—Will Porter, Architectural Digest, 5 Feb. 2025
The shoestring budget worried investors that U.S. companies would pull back their AI spending, which would hurt numerous companies producing elements from chips to energy, that power AI.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 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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Friedland builds her drama through sharp honesty, and tough as its material may be, few films are so tonally flexible, so able to turn on a dime: stray moments of tenderness, humility, even absurdity poke through, with a love and care for Ruth shown by characters and creators alike.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2025
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But Zelenskyy said Trump -- who insists Putin is ready to end the three-year grinding war -- needs to understand that Ukraine can't change its attitudes toward Russia on a dime.—
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS,
arkansasonline.com,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Two dense clusters of the spindly florals become a bikini-tie top, worn with an open-front catsuit that looks like it was drawn directly onto the models body.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN,
4 Feb. 2025
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Listing photos suggest even the décor is unchanged: spindly furniture, oil paintings, and, in that dining room, the kind of plush fabric wall coverings that entice curious fingertips in the decorative wing of the Met.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
29 July 2024
Adjective
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White-rot fungi release aggressive enzymes that bust apart lignin to get at the other bits, leaving behind white, stringy wood that’s mostly cellulose.—
Katarina Zimmer,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
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One video of a customer dipping mozzarella sticks in sauce and eating the stringy cheese has more than 16 million views.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In the middle is Toledo, 32, lanky and thoughtful as always, with an N95 mask and long hair hiding much of his face.—
Simon Vozick-Levinson,
Rolling Stone,
4 Mar. 2025
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Porter has a similar lanky stature to Douglas, and Douglas is eager to teach, giving Porter a chance to learn a lot from Douglas in one year together.—
Joe Buscaglia,
The Athletic,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Michelle Troconis, the 49-year-old Venezuelan socialite who was convicted on Friday for conspiracy to commit murder, is tall, willowy, and as beautiful as a newscaster.—
Rich Cohen,
airmail.news,
2 Mar. 2024
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Kidman, who’s nearly six feet tall, impossibly willowy, and the precise shade of a scoop of vanilla ice cream, has never been an Everywoman.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The reedy, tree-like grass is a panda’s primary food source, especially the shoots.—
Monica Cull,
Discover Magazine,
27 Feb. 2025
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Chalamet sulks and talks out of the side of his mouth, picking from a grab bag of accents that vary with each scene—all of which are far more reedy and cartoonish than Dylan actually sounded in his younger days.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
10 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) forecasts a modest 0.2 percent increase in single-family home builds to start in 2025, but notes that regulatory hurdles, construction costs and tight lending conditions could slow further expansion.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
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As a result, prognosticators consider this a tight race.—
Nathaniel Rakich,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The rangy second-year is unassumingly fifth in defensive win shares this season.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
The Athletic,
25 Feb. 2025
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The Celtics picked their spots against the impossibly rangy Wembanyama, who entered Wednesday with 75 more blocks than any other NBA player (and got another one early on an Al Horford layup attempt).—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
13 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shoestring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shoestring. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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