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

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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

Later, I padded barefoot into the yard to snip rosemary for the stuffing.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

He might simply have alerted the local authorities to a feral, barefoot witch roaming his property.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Dubbed “the barefoot revolutionary” for his refusal to wear shoes, Hilton was satirized on the BBC political sitcom “The Thick of It” as Stewart Pearson, the Tories’ “eco-friendly, media-savvy, blue-sky-thinking” communications director.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Despite having no training, or even a pair of running shoes, Ramabai Ranveer sprinted barefoot to victory in her first-ever race in August.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Lexie would slide down off her stool and walk across the kitchen with the elegance of a dancer, barefoot on the Italian tiles.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

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