unshod

unshod — adjective

  • unshodpositive
  • more unshodcomparative
  • most unshodsuperlative

1. Describes a person who is not wearing shoes, or a horse whose hooves are not fit

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

Describes a person who is not wearing shoes, or a horse whose hooves are not fitted with metal shoes.

Example

The children ran unshod through the damp grass in the backyard.

Faisal prefers to walk unshod on the beach and feel the warm sand.

unshod + walk on [surface]

Common collocations
  • walk unshod
  • go unshod
  • run unshod
  • unshod feet
  • unshod horse
Synonyms
  • barefoot

    the most common everyday term for a person without shoes; unshod is more formal

  • shoeless

    less common than barefoot, usually describing a temporary state

Antonyms
  • shod

    the direct opposite, rarely used outside technical or literary contexts

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe being without shoes, but they differ in scope and register. Barefoot is the most common everyday word, used for people casually walking or standing without shoes. Shoeless is less frequent and often implies a temporary state — for example, guests asked to remove shoes indoors. Unshod is the most formal or technical of the three; it also applies to horses without horseshoes, a meaning the other two words do not carry. You would say 'the children ran barefoot on the grass' or 'the hotel asked guests to remain shoeless by the pool,' but only unshod describes a horse on a rocky trail.

Common collocations

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Unshod combines the Old English prefix un- ('not') with shod, the past participle of shoe. The word has been used since the 1500s to describe both barefoot people and horses without metal shoes.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined above