Cleats or studs are protrusions on the sole of a shoe

Shoe

A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...

, or on an external attachment to a shoe, that provide additional traction

Traction (engineering)

Traction refers to the maximum frictional force that can be produced between surfaces without slipping.The units of traction are those of force, or if expressed as a coefficient of traction a ratio.-Traction:...

 on a soft or slippery surface. In American English

American English

American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....

 the terms cleats is used synecdochically

Synecdoche

Synecdoche , meaning "simultaneous understanding") is a figure of speech in which a term is used in one of the following ways:* Part of something is used to refer to the whole thing , or...

 to refer to shoes featuring such protrusions.
Unlike track spikes

Track spikes

Track spikes, or just spikes, are pointed protrusions usually made of metal, ceramic or plastic that are screwed into the bottom of most track and field shoes to increase traction and minimize the likelihood of slipping. The term "spikes" can also refer to track shoes featuring such protrusions...

 that appear on shoes for sports such as track and field and golf, the shoes for team sports played on grass generally have large studs on the bottom to assist in gripping the surface, preventing sliding and assisting in rapid changes of direction.