Definition

Noun: 1. The act or service of polishing shoes: A shoeshine is the process of cleaning, applying polish to, and buffing a pair of shoes to make them shiny. 2. The shiny finish on a shoe: A shoeshine is the resulting shiny appearance on a shoe after it has been polished.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Act/Service):
  • He earned extra money by giving shoeshines on the street corner.
  • I got a quick shoeshine at the airport before my meeting.
• Noun (Finish):
  • His leather boots had a perfect, mirror-like shoeshine.
  • You could tell he took pride in the brilliant shoeshine on his formal shoes.

Advanced Usage

• "to have a shoeshine": to possess a shiny finish on one's shoes.
  • The sergeant demanded that all recruits have a shoeshine on their boots.
• Used attributively (as a noun modifier) to describe related things.
  • He worked at a shoeshine stand in the train station.

Variants and Related Words

• Shoeshiner (n): a person whose job is to shine shoes.
  • The shoeshiner worked quickly and expertly.
• Shoe polish (n): the wax or cream used to shine shoes.
  • He applied brown shoe polish to his boots.

Synonyms

• Polish (n): a shiny surface produced by rubbing.
  • The silver had a beautiful polish.
• Shine (n): the quality of being bright from reflected light.
  • The shine on the car was impressive.

Related Phrases

• To shine shoes (verb phrase): to perform the act of polishing shoes.
  • He learned to shine shoes in the military.

Noun

1. the act of shining shoes
   • he charged a dollar for a shoeshine
2. a shiny finish put on shoes with polish and buffing
   • his trousers had a sharp crease and you could see your reflection in his shoeshine