cleats
Definition
Noun (plural form, often used with a plural verb) 1. Sports shoes with projecting pieces on the soles: A type of athletic footwear, typically used in sports like soccer, football, baseball, or golf, that has leather, rubber, or metal projections (also called studs or spikes) on the sole to provide extra grip and prevent slipping on grass or soft ground. 2. The projecting pieces themselves: The individual spikes or studs attached to the sole of such a shoe.
Usage and Examples
- Referring to the shoes:
- The soccer player laced up his cleats before the match.
- You need to wear cleats to play on the wet field.
- Referring to the projections (less common, often specified):
- The cleats on these shoes are made of molded plastic.
- He replaced the worn metal cleats on his golf shoes.
Advanced Usage
- "To be in cleats": To be wearing cleated shoes, often implying readiness to play a sport.
- As soon as he was in cleats, he ran onto the field.
- The singular form "cleat" can refer to a single projection or a similar gripping device used in other contexts (e.g., sailing, climbing), but the plural form "cleats" almost exclusively refers to the shoes in common sports parlance.
Variants and Related Words
- Cleated (adjective): Describing shoes that have cleats.
- Cleated football boots.
- Studs / Spikes: Synonyms for the individual gripping projections on the sole.
- Turf shoes / Astroturf shoes: A type of athletic shoe with many small, rubbery cleats designed for artificial turf surfaces.
Synonyms
- For the shoes: spiked shoes, studded shoes, soccer boots, football boots, baseball spikes.
- For the projections: studs, spikes, lugs.
Related Phrases
- Tie your cleats: To fasten or lace up your cleated shoes.
- The coach yelled, "Tie your cleats! The game starts in two minutes!"
- Change into cleats: To switch from regular shoes into cleated sports shoes.
- The players changed into cleats in the locker room.
Noun
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shoes with leather or metal projections on the soles
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the football players all wore cleats
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