hoof

American  

[hoof, hoof] / hʊf, huf /

noun

PLURAL

hoofs, hooves, hoof

1. the horny covering protecting the ends of the digits or encasing the foot in certain animals, as the ox and horse.

2. the entire foot of a horse, donkey, etc.

3. Older Use.  a hoofed animal, especially one of a herd.

4. Informal.  the human foot.

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verb (used with object)

1. Slang.  to walk (often followed byit ).

   Let's hoof it to the supermarket.

verb (used without object)

1. Slang.  to dance, especially to tap-dance.

   He's been hoofing at the Palladium.

idioms

1. on the hoof,  (of livestock) not butchered; live.

   The city youngsters were seeing lambs on the hoof for the first time.

hoof British  

/ huːf /

noun

1. 1. the horny covering of the end of the foot in the horse, deer, and all other ungulate mammals

   2. ( in combination )

      a hoofbeat

2. the foot of an ungulate mammal

3. a hoofed animal

4. facetious  a person's foot

5. 1. (of livestock) alive

   2. in an impromptu manner

      he did his thinking on the hoof

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verb

1. (tr) to kick or trample with the hoofs

2. slang

   1. to walk

   2. to dance

Other Word Forms

• hoofiness noun
• hoofless adjective
• hooflike adjective

Etymology

Origin of hoof

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English hōf; cognate with Old Frisian hōf, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Old Norse hōfr; compare Sanskrit śaphas

Example Sentences

Their reconstruction reveals a tall crest running along the neck and torso, a row of spikes down the tail, and hooves that enclosed the toes.

From Science Daily

Nothing could have provided a more suitable host than an area of prairie where native grasses had been scythed away and the ground torn up by metal ploughshares and the hooves of a farmer’s horses.

From The Wall Street Journal

This city may be small, but in 1926 it became immortal, the place where a fiesta, thundering hooves, and a novel collided to shape modern legend.

From Salon

He was supposed to run in the Juvenile but he suffered a deep bruise in his left front hoof.

From Los Angeles Times

They got their reward with a goal, Dane Murray panicking and hoofing the ball into his own net instead of making a clearance that should have been routine.

From BBC

Related Words

• paw