Bootblack

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A shoeshine boy; a person who shines shoes as an occupation. dated

    "The young negro bootblack hummed "The Camp Meeting Blues" and polished in rhythm to his tune, drawing the shiny shoe-rag so taut at each stroke that it snapped like a banjo string."

  2. 2
    a person who polishes shoes and boots wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To shine shoes. transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
shoeblackairline hostessairline stewardessattendantbatmanbellboy

Example

More examples

"The young negro bootblack hummed "The Camp Meeting Blues" and polished in rhythm to his tune, drawing the shiny shoe-rag so taut at each stroke that it snapped like a banjo string."

Etymology

From boot + black.

Related phrases

shoeshine boy

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.