Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

flatfoot

American  
[flat-foot, -foot] / ˈflætˌfʊt, -ˈfʊt /

noun

plural

flatfeet, flatfoots

  1. Pathology.

    1. a condition in which the arch of the foot is flattened so that the entire sole rests upon the ground.

    2. Also flat foot. a foot with such an arch.

  2. Slang. a police officer; cop.

  3. Older Slang. a sailor.

flatfoot British  
/ ˈflætˌfʊt /

noun

  1. Also called: splayfoot.  a condition in which the entire sole of the foot is able to touch the ground because of flattening of the instep arch

  2. a slang word (usually derogatory) for a policeman

"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 flatfoot

First recorded in 1865–70; flat 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.

There was clogging, stomping and flatfoot dancing; the Dutch and English square-dancing with the Africans and the Irish.

From Washington Post • Oct. 26, 2021

At seventy-five, he has the florid, bulbous mug of a cartoon flatfoot, if that flatfoot were descended from Lithuanian Talmudists and six generations of Jerusalemites.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 10, 2014

In comparison, Hauer’s silver-haired superman is more human than human, and finally more complex than Ford’s victimized flatfoot.

From Time • Jun. 25, 2012

It is suited more for seated audiences than the foot-stomping dance I saw in Fries, which is known as flatfoot.

From New York Times • May 20, 2011

I. Some flatfoot tramp on it in the morning.

From Ulysses by Joyce, James

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.