foe

[ foh ]

/ foʊ /

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noun

a person who feels enmity, hatred, or malice toward another; enemy: a bitter foe.

a military enemy; hostile army.

a person belonging to a hostile army or nation.

an opponent in a game or contest; adversary: a political foe.

a person who is opposed in feeling, principle, etc., to something: a foe to progress in civil rights.

a thing that is harmful to or destructive of something: Sloth is the foe of health.

Nearby words

Origin of foe

before 900; Middle English foo, Old English fāh hostile, gefāh enemy; cognate with Old High German gifēh at war. See feud¹

SYNONYMS FOR foe

1. See enemy. 1, 3–5. opponent, antagonist.

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ANTONYMS FOR foe

1–3. friend.

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F.O.E.

Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for foe

In geopolitics, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction prevents the use of weapons of mass destruction against a foe.
The App Bringing Out The Best/Worst in Washington’s Gays|Scott Bixby|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a GOP runoff today, candidate T.J. Fabby has attacked his foe for accepting Muslim money.
How I Made Sure a Texas Tea Party Candidate Accepted ‘Dirty’ Muslim Money|Dean Obeidallah|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To a progressive, he is both friend and foe; both visionary and reactionary.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Israel’s Pragmatic Kingmaker|Jay Michaelson|October 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Which is how he and Johns made a living in their early days – as his foe Hilton Kramer liked to point out.
Magpie Loose in a Car Dealership|Blake Gopnik|July 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a foe of the industry, has been seated on the Senate banking committee.
Pity the Poor Bankers|Daniel Gross|January 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
None, however, were falling on the wood because here friend and foe were lying almost within bayonet length of each other.
The Sky Pilot in No Man's Land|Ralph Connor
These circumstances had given extensive notoriety to her name, and drawn largely upon her the observation of both friend and foe.
Horse-Shoe Robinson|John Pendleton Kennedy
Let his foe follow him, and find him for himself, but not through me!
Dombey and Son|Charles Dickens
He was generous towards his aged parents; was deeply imbued with a sense of religion, and was the foe of vice in every form.
The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II.|Various
No one within the ranch knew it, but within two hundred yards lay the foe Lar Tantril and his men feared most.
The Passing of Ku Sui|Anthony Gilmore

British Dictionary definitions for foe

foe

/ (fəʊ) /

noun

formal, or literary another word for enemy

Word Origin for foe

Old English fāh hostile; related to Old High German fēhan to hate, Old Norse feikn dreadful; see feud 1

FoE

FOE

abbreviation for

Friends of the Earth

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

Word Origin and History for foe

foe

Old English gefa "foe, enemy, adversary in a blood feud" (the prefix denotes "mutuality"), from fah "at feud, hostile," from Proto-Germanic *fakhaz (cf. Old High German fehan "to hate," Gothic faih "deception"), probably from PIE root *peig- "evil-minded, treacherous, hostile" (cf. Sanskrit pisunah "malicious," picacah "demon;" Greek pikros "bitter;" Lithuanian piktas "wicked, angry," pekti "to blame"). Weaker sense of "adversary" is first recorded c.1600.

foe

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of foe

F.O.E.

Examples from the Web for foe

foe

noun

Word Origin for foe

FoE

FOE

abbreviation for

foe