flat-footed
Britishadjective
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having flatfoot
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informal
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clumsy or awkward
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downright and uncompromising
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informal off guard or unawares (often in the phrase catch flat-footed )
Other Word Forms
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.
But her flat-footed handling of the huge fires that tore through the city in January 2025 left her in trouble.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Still, it was caught flat-footed by the arrival of high-functioning chatbots in the form of ChatGPT in late 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Wood dictated the tempo across 12 rounds against a frustrated, flat-footed Warrington.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026
Rodriguez said the city is often left flat-footed when encampments pop up on hillsides and property owners don’t help address the issue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
Since the terrible night of the ants, Mother had been creeping her remorse in flat-footed circles around me without ever speaking of it, wearing her guilt like the swollen breasts of a nursing mother.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
