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Glite Dictionary
top lift

top lift

8.9
The bottom part of a shoe heel that often wears away and needs replacing
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : tacón
  • The cobbler replaced the worn top lift on my boots to extend their life.

Examples

  • You can tell the quality of a shoe by the material used for its top lift.

  • The top lift of my shoe wore out quickly.

  • Over time, the top lift may need to be replaced to maintain proper support.

  • He replaced the top lift on his favorite boots.

  • The cobbler replaced the worn top lift on my boots to extend their life.

  • You can tell the quality of a shoe by the material used for its top lift.

  • Over time, the top lift may need to be replaced to maintain proper support.

Synonyms

heeltip
vstop lift
7.7

A small replaceable piece at the bottom of a shoe heel that touches the ground

is the bottom layer made to resist wear rather than be replaceable

Surface Forms

top lift singular
top lifts plural

Morphology

top + lift

The sense 'bottom layer of a shoe heel' is a specialized, technical meaning that does not follow transparently from 'top' (highest part) + 'lift' (an insert that adds height). The apparent contradiction (a 'top' term referring to a heel's underside) and the jargonistic nature make the meaning unpredictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Top lift: The noun top lift names the small, replaceable piece on a shoe heel that gives the final lift and touches the ground. Because this piece wears down first and is often replaced by a cobbler, top lift came to mean the 'bottom layer of a shoe heel'.