barefoot

American

[bair-foot] / ˈbɛərˌfʊt /

adjective

Also barefooted. with the feet bare.

a barefoot boy;
to walk barefoot.
Carpentry. (of a post or stud) secured to a sill or the like without mortising.

barefoot British

/ ˈbɛəˌfʊt /

adjective

with the feet uncovered

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of barefoot

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Many people in our troubled country are apparently so eager for peace that they’ll join barefoot monks in colorful robes in walking halfway across the continent.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

Devotees bearing offerings such as milk pots or carrying elaborate and heavy metal frames called "kavadis" walked barefoot up 272 steps to reach the temple.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

Being locked barefoot in an executioner's chair sounds uncomfortable, but that is what Chris Pratt requested for his latest film, Mercy.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

Hunter is a new flavor of “Star Trek” skipper; casual and compact, she curls up in her captain’s chair, stretches out wherever convenient and goes about barefoot.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026

After practice, they’ll all go to the beach or out to lunch at one of those fancy places where you can’t go barefoot like you can at my favorite place, Saucepan Lynn’s.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023