sole
Noun pluralsoles
Pluralsoles
- 1Only. The one and no other, or belonging to just one person or group and not shared.
Like the only key that can open one lock.
She was the sole owner of the small bakery.
His sole reason for leaving was the cold weather.
UsageSay the sole owner. Soul (the spirit) is a different word.
Similarlone
Note
- 2The flat bottom part of a shoe that touches the ground.
Like the bottom of a tire that grips the road.
The sole of my sneaker is worn down.
He glued the loose sole back onto his boot.
Note
- 3The bottom of your foot, or the hard bottom part of a horse's hoof.
Like the flat underside of your shoe, but it is part of your body.
The sole of her foot was sore after the long walk.
He stepped on a tack and hurt the sole of his foot.
Note
- 4A flat sea fish with both eyes on one side, often cooked and eaten.
Like a flat, pancake-shaped fish that lies on the sea floor.
We ordered grilled sole at the seaside restaurant.
The fisherman pulled a large sole from his net.
UsageOn a menu: grilled sole. One fish is a sole.
Note
Less common meanings
- 5
- 6To put a new bottom part onto a shoe or boot.
Like putting a new tire on a wheel that has worn out.
The cobbler will sole my boots by Friday.
They sole every pair of shoes by hand in that shop.
- 7The whole foot, not just its underside.
Hast wandred through the world now long a day;Yet ceasest not thy wearie soles to lead
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie QueeneHere, soles means feet, the whole feet carrying you on.Note
- 8A wooden collar or yoke fastened around the neck of an ox or cow in its stall.
- 9Being the best of its kind, with nothing else able to match it.
- 10In law, describing a woman who has no husband, because she never married or because her husband has died.
- 11The floor inside the cabin of a boat or yacht.
- 12The bottom floor of a mine, or a flat, level vein of ore.
- 13A piece of wood fixed to the bottom of a ship's rudder to line it up with the keel.
The rudder remains to be repaired, and is unshipped for the purpose; the sole of it is entirely gone
1842, The Nautical Magazine - 14The bottom end piece of the chanter, the pipe that plays the melody on a set of bagpipes.
- 15A pond or pool, especially a dirty one full of still water.
- 16To pull someone by the ears, or to drag and haul them about.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
It comes from Latin "solus," meaning "alone," through Old French.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The adjective comes from Latin solus through Old French. en.m.wiktionary.org
- Latin solus means alone. en.wiktionary.org
It comes from Latin "solea," meaning "sandal" or "bottom of the shoe."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Sole derives from Latin solea. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin solea means sandal or the bottom of a shoe. en.wiktionary.org
It comes from Old English "sāl," meaning "a rope or cord."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- This sense of sole derives from Old English sāl, meaning a rope or cord. en.m.wiktionary.org