A shoelace is the thin string that goes in and out of the holes in the front of a shoe so you can pull it tight and tie a bow. Most trainers and many leather shoes use laces; some shoes use sticky straps or have no fastening at all. You tie your shoelaces; if they come undone you can trip. Parents say “Do up your laces” to children all the time. British and American English both use shoelace; people also just say laces when it is already clear you mean shoes. The word is ordinary, everyday, and slightly childish in feel only because children are the ones who keep leaving them loose.

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