flatfoot

[flat-foot, -foot]

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of flatfoot¹

First recorded in 1865–70; flat ¹ + foot

Example Sentences

But of course the movie’s main literary business, its principal reason for existing, is implied by the fedoras and floppy neckties, the cigarettes and slugs of whiskeys, the flatfoots and dangerous blondes.

Read more on New York Times

“Christmas in the Smokies,” its signature show, has been running since 1990, with a live orchestra and Appalachian storytelling, a flatfoot dancer and a fiddler.

Read more on New York Times

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

Read more on Washington Post

She started writing weekly emails to all her contacts, sharing videos and offering online classes in flatfoot dancing and clogging.

Read more on New York Times

When Luft tried to control Garland’s pill intake, she turned his “concern into a game,” he said, referring to him as “the cop, the narc, the flatfoot.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• agent 
• informer 
• police officer 
• private eye 
• private investigator 
• prosecutor 
• reporter 
• sleuth 
• spy