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

Standing barefoot outside his home at 8th Street and Balboa Boulevard, holding a cup of coffee, Ross Stewart, 79, stared at the gray sky and at the berms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Of course, back when barefoot running was the rage in the mid-2000s, alleged injuries caused by zero-stack, or “barely there,” shoes resulted in lawsuits against manufacturers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

But videos of her barefoot run spread rapidly on social media and in newspapers, striking a nerve as India's education system faces unusual scrutiny.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

In a station in the middle of the night, a few barefoot children—maybe orphans?—ran onto the train yelling and laughing.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

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