Cleat (shoe)

Cleats or studs are protrusions on the sole of a shoe, or on an external attachment to a shoe, that provide additional traction on a soft or slippery surface. In American English the term cleats is used synecdochically to refer to shoes featuring such protrusions. This does not happen in British English; the term 'studs' is never used to refer to the shoes, which would instead be known as 'football boots', 'rugby boots', and so on.