moccasin

noun

moc·​ca·​sin ˈmä-kə-sən 

1

a

: a soft leather heelless shoe or boot with the sole brought up the sides of the foot and over the toes where it is joined with a puckered seam to a U-shaped piece lying on top of the foot

b

: a regular shoe having a seam on the forepart of the vamp imitating the seam of a moccasin

2

a

: water moccasin

b

: a snake (as of the genus Gloydius) resembling a water moccasin

moccasined

ˈmä-kə-sənd 

adjective

Examples of moccasin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Everyone is wearing period shoes, and with the sheer number of Indigenous characters onscreen, where are all those moccasins coming from? —Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 28 Jan. 2025

The costume department built more than 1,300 garments and hundreds of pairs of moccasins. —Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025

There were also close to 700 pairs of moccasins made from the same hide. —Dana Feldman, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

Native Americans handcrafted everything from the beaded jewlery worn by the Indigenous actors to the suede moccasins. —Caroline Reilly, Robb Report, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Virginia Algonquian mockasin

First Known Use

circa 1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing moccasin

• cottonmouth moccasin
• moccasin flower
• water moccasin

Kids Definition

moccasin

noun

moc·​ca·​sin ˈmäk-ə-sən 

1

a

: a soft leather shoe without a heel and with the sole and sides made of one piece

b

: a similar shoe with a separate sole

2

: water moccasin

Medical Definition

moccasin

noun

moc·​ca·​sin ˈmäk-ə-sən 

1

: water moccasin

2

: a snake (as of the genus Natrix) resembling a water moccasin