studs
- 1Plural of stud.
The contractor marked the studs on the drywall before mounting the television.
His leather jacket had a row of silver studs along the collar.
Note
An ordinary -s plural with a wide spread of meanings, so the setting does the sorting: a builder finds the studs behind drywall, a jeweler sells studs as earrings, a breeder keeps stallions at stud, and a leather jacket carries a row of silver studs. Applied to men, it is colloquial. The plural-only uses for studded sports shoes and winter tires grow out of it.
- 2Tires with metal protrusions that give better traction on snow and ice in winter.
We switched to studs in November and crossed the mountain pass without trouble.
Every April the shop takes off our studs and puts the regular tires back on.
Note
Drivers' shorthand for studded tires, and plural-only for the same reason as tires: you switch to studs in November and off them in spring. The metal that bites into ice also chews up pavement, which is why many US states have outlawed them, and worn studs lose the grip they were bought for.
- 3A pair of shoes or boots with studs on the soles to give better grip.
The coach told the players to wear studs because the field was soaked.
She laced up her studs in the locker room before the rugby match.
Similarcleats
Note
Like boots and shoes themselves, the word comes only in the plural: players wear their studs, and a single shoe is one of a pair. It belongs to field sports such as soccer and rugby, where a soaked or muddy pitch calls for grip, and it names the footwear by the small projections on its soles.
studs is a form of stud
stud, noun: A small object that projects from a surface, such as an ornamental knob. Full entry
- Forms
- studstuds plural
- Spelling
- stud → studs: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /z/.
Practice
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