A horseshoe is a piece of metal shaped like a U, which is fixed with nails to the bottom of a horse's foot in order to protect it.
2. countable noun
A horseshoe is an object in the shape of a horseshoe which is used as a symbol of good luck, especially at a wedding.
horseshoe in British English
(ˈhɔːsˌʃuː)
noun
1.
a piece of iron shaped like a U with the ends curving inwards that is nailed to the underside of the hoof of a horse to protect the soft part of the foot from hard surfaces: commonly thought to be a token of good luck
2.
an object of similar shape
verbWord forms: -shoes, -shoeing or -shoed
3. (transitive)
to fit with a horseshoe; shoe
horseshoe in American English
(ˈhɔrsˌʃu; ˈhɔrʃu)
noun
1.
a flat, U-shaped metal plate nailed to a horse's hoof for protection
2.
anything shaped like this
3. [pl., with sing. v.]
a game in which the players toss horseshoes at two facing stakes driven into the ground 40 feet apart, the object being to encircle the stake or come as close to it as possible
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈhorseˌshoed or ˈhorseˌshoeing
4.
to fit with a horseshoe or horseshoes
Derived forms
horseshoer (ˈhorseˌshoer)
noun
Word origin
ME horscho, contr. of horsis sho
Examples of 'horseshoe' in a sentence
horseshoe
Its inner horseshoe of tables remains the premier spot for early-morning dealmaking over smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Its inner horseshoe of tables remains the premier spot for early-morning dealmakingover smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There is a colony of lesser horseshoe bat in the cave.
Perring, Franklyn A Guide to Britain's Conservation Heritage (1991)
Your introduction to this kind may have come via a toy horseshoe magnet or a magnetic compass.
Schneider, Hermann & Schneider, Leo The Harper Dictionary of Science in Everyday Language (1988)
And he admits he will need more than a lucky horseshoe to make it through to round three.
The Sun (2010)
But first he insisted on leaving his place next to me and walked round to the open end of the horseshoe table.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The duchess is likely to be given a prominent seat at the horseshoe shaped table, which can seat 170 diners.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Pile meat on one half and fold over the pastry, pressing the edges to seal, then trim into a horseshoe shape.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Somewhere along the way I had snaffled my grandfather's old collars and the leather box shaped like a horseshoe in which they were kept.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Word lists with
horseshoe
Tack and equipment and their parts
In other languages
horseshoe
British English: horseshoe /ˈhɔːsˌʃuː/ NOUN
A horseshoe is a piece of metal shaped like a U which is fixed to a horse's hoof.
American English: horseshoe
Arabic: حُدْوَةُ الـحِصَّانِ
Brazilian Portuguese: ferradura
Chinese: 马蹄铁
Croatian: potkova
Czech: podkova
Danish: hestesko
Dutch: hoefijzer
European Spanish: herradura
Finnish: hevosenkenkä
French: fer à cheval
German: Hufeisen
Greek: πέταλο
Italian: ferro di cavallo
Japanese: 蹄鉄
Korean: 편자
Norwegian: hestesko
Polish: podkowa
European Portuguese: ferradura
Romanian: potcoavă
Russian: подкова
Latin American Spanish: herradura
Swedish: hästsko
Thai: เกือกม้า
Turkish: at nalı
Ukrainian: підкова
Vietnamese: móng ngựa
All related terms of 'horseshoe'
horseshoe bat
any of numerous large-eared Old World insectivorous bats , mostly of the genus Rhinolophus, with a fleshy growth around the nostrils , used in echolocation : family Rhinolophidae
horseshoe arch
an arch formed in the shape of a horseshoe , esp as used in Moorish architecture
horseshoe crab
any marine chelicerate arthropod of the genus Limulus , of North America and Asia , having a rounded heavily armoured body with a long pointed tail : class Merostomata
horseshoe fern
a New Zealand fern , Marattia salicina , with long heavy fronds
horseshoe whipsnake
a long slender fast-moving nonvenomous snake, Coluber hippocrepis , of Eurasia
phoronid
a small, wormlike marine animal which usually lives in the mud of the sea bottom and is hermaphrodite
king fern
a New Zealand fern , Marattia salicina , with long heavy fronds