barefoot

American  

[bair-foot] / ˈbɛərˌfʊt /

adjective

1. Also barefooted. with the feet bare.

   a barefoot boy;

   to walk barefoot.

2. Carpentry. (of a post or stud) secured to a sill or the like without mortising.

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barefoot British  

/ ˈbɛəˌfʊt /

adjective

1. with the feet uncovered

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Etymology

Origin of barefoot

before 1000; Middle English barfot, Old English bærfōt. See bare ¹, foot

Explanation

When you're barefoot, you're not wearing any shoes or socks. It might feel good to walk barefoot on a sandy beach on a warm day, but just don't try entering a restaurant barefoot. Some kids might spend the whole summer barefoot, walking down sidewalks with their sneakers in their hands, and if you're a lifeguard or a professional gymnast, you get to be barefoot at work. The Old English root of barefoot is bærfot, combining bær, "naked" or "uncovered," with fot, "foot."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

barefoot

Billy Smith—his hair loose, wearing a dress, and barefoot after discarding his low-heel pumps—danced the woman invoked in the song.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Stroll down, barefoot, and it’s a free shiatsu foot massage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Years ago, Rebecca became obsessed with barefoot shoes.

From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2026

It has cookie dough, because sometimes hospitality means baking twelve cookies for friends, and sometimes it means baking two for yourself while standing barefoot in the kitchen.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

But when she’d first met him, he’d been barefoot, so this was an improvement.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata