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

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

The company made other suggestions, including letting Leo walk around barefoot, pet neighbors’ dogs and play in the dirt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

They walked in single file, many of them barefoot, carrying flowers, handing out bracelets and picking up new followers along the way.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

“Anyway, we had gone barefoot, because it was a cool morning. But when lunchtime came around, we tried to leave the grass, and the pavement was too hot.”

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram