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

Eger unlocked one woman’s grief by coaxing her to stand barefoot on her mother’s grave.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

And I should—post-matcha, I spent 6.5 minutes barefoot in an immersive audiovisual “uplifting” guided breathwork program.

From Slate • May 8, 2026

More footage was shown of Varley, barefoot and wearing a Jurassic Park t-shirt and tartan pyjama bottoms, outside the hospital entrance, minutes after Preston had been declared dead.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

Courtney rips the IV from her arm and escapes, barefoot and in a hospital gown.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

She loved being barefoot in school; it made her feet feel free.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata