Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A rubber-soled cloth shoe; a sneaker.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun UK A rubber-soled lace-up canvas shoe for sports or onboard ships; a precursor of trainers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a light gym shoe with a rubber sole and a canvas top
  • noun waterlines to show the level the water should reach when the ship is properly loaded

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably from the resemblance of its mudguard to a Plimsoll mark.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Samuel Plimsoll, a Bristol merchant.

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Examples

  • In the same way that the plimsoll line reflected the point at which a boat could sit comfortably in the water without effectively flooding, the line on the plimsoll illustrated the point at which the canvas would get wet if the foot was immersed.

    The Great Sneaker Revival Tina Gaudoin 2011

  • Instead, let's run through the fashion highlights, which go something like this: During the 1800s, plimsolls were developed by the Liverpool Rubber company in the form of canvas shoes with a rubber sole and a line resembling the plimsoll line on a boat.

    The Great Sneaker Revival Tina Gaudoin 2011

  • They seek to heap more and more on a ship that is already dangerously below the plimsoll.

    What Really Matters At The Top « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

  • Inspired by the Feiyue collabo description, I told my friend that the hansome African-American fellow across the way looked like a "cool coulered plimsoll."

    The Morning After: Surveying the Damage BikeSnobNYC 2009

  • The foot was wearing a plimsoll, which explained why Rebus hadn't heard his attacker following him.

    Mortal Causes Rankin, Ian 1994

  • There's really no point in sending him back: every one of his ships was loaded to the plimsoll line.

    The Chronicles of Pern McCaffrey, Anne 1993

  • There's really no point in sending him back: every one of his ships was loaded to the plimsoll line.

    First Fall McCaffrey, Anne 1993

  • Every one of his ships was loaded to the plimsoll line.

    Chronicles of Pern, First Fall McCaffrey, Anne 1993

  • The water came in more quickly now, creeping up the plimsoll marks painted fore and aft.

    The Cardinal of the Kremlin Clancy, Tom, 1947- 1988

  • Rubber sole Was £24.99, Now just £7.99 Hurry - limited stock of everything TextbookX Voucher Firetrap womens sky blue and white canvas laced up plimsoll.

    Voucher Blog 2011

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