(in vertebrates) the terminal part of the leg, below the ankle joint, on which the body stands and moves.
(in invertebrates) any part similar in position or function.
such a part considered as the organ of locomotion.
a unit of length, originally derived from the length of the human foot. It is divided into 12 inches and equal to 30.48 centimeters. ft., f.
foot soldiers; infantry.
walking or running motion; pace.
swift of foot.
quality or character of movement or motion; tread; step.
any part or thing resembling a foot, as in function, placement, shape, etc.
Furniture.
a shaped or ornamented feature terminating a leg at its lower part.
any of several short legs supporting a central shaft, as of a pedestal table.
a rim, flange, or flaring part, often distinctively treated, serving as a base for a table furnishing or utensil, as a glass, teapot, or candlestick.
the part of a stocking, sock, etc., covering the foot.
the lowest part, or bottom, of anything, as of a hill, ladder, page, etc.
a supporting part; base.
the part of anything opposite the top or head.
He waited patiently at the foot of the checkout line.
the end of a bed, grave, etc., toward which the feet are placed.
Put the blanket at the foot of the bed, please.
Printing. the part of the type body that forms the sides of the groove, at the base.
the last, as of a series.
that which is written at the bottom, as the total of an account.
Prosody. a group of syllables constituting a metrical unit of a verse.
Usually foots
sediment or dregs.
Nautical. the lower edge of a sail.
to walk; go on foot (often followed byit ).
We'll have to foot it.
to move the feet rhythmically, as to music or in dance (often followed byit ).
(of vessels) to move forward; sail.
to foot briskly across the open water.
to walk or dance on.
footing the cobblestones of the old city.
to perform (a dance).
cavaliers footing a galliard.
to traverse on or as if on foot.
to make or attach a foot to.
to foot a stocking.
to pay or settle.
I always end up footing the bill.
to add (a column of figures) and set the sum at the foot (often followed byup ).
to seize with talons, as a hawk.
to establish.
Archaic. to kick, especially to kick away.
Obsolete. to set foot on.
get off on the right / wrong foot, to begin favorably or unfavorably.
He got off on the wrong foot with a tactless remark about his audience.
put one's foot down, to take a firm stand; be decisive or determined.
on foot, by walking or running, rather than by riding.
under foot, in the way.
That cat is always under foot when I'm getting dinner.
have one foot in the grave. grave.
put one's best foot forward,
to attempt to make as good an impression as possible.
to proceed with all possible haste; hurry.
set foot in / on, to go on or into; enter: Also step foot inon
Don't set foot in this office again!
get / have / a / one's foot in the door, to succeed in achieving an initial stage or step.
put one's foot in / into it, to make an embarrassing blunder. Also put one's foot ininto one's mouth
the part of the vertebrate leg below the ankle joint that is in contact with the ground during standing and walking
the part of a garment that covers a foot
any of various organs of locomotion or attachment in invertebrates, including molluscs
botany the lower part of some plant structures, as of a developing moss sporophyte embedded in the parental tissue
ft. a unit of length equal to one third of a yard or 12 inches. 1 Imperial foot is equivalent to 0.3048 metre
any of various units of length used at different times and places, typically about 10 per cent greater than the Imperial foot
any part resembling a foot in form or function
the foot of a chair
the lower part of something; base; bottom
the foot of the page
the foot of a hill
the end of a series or group
the foot of the list
manner of walking or moving; tread; step
a heavy foot
infantry, esp in the British army
( as modifier )
a foot soldier
any of various attachments on a sewing machine that hold the fabric in position, such as a presser foot for ordinary sewing and a zipper foot
music
a unit used in classifying organ pipes according to their pitch, in terms of the length of an equivalent column of air
this unit applied to stops and registers on other instruments
printing
the margin at the bottom of a page
the undersurface of a piece of type
prosody a group of two or more syllables in which one syllable has the major stress, forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm
an action, appointment, etc, that provides an initial step towards a desired goal, esp one that is not easily attainable
to be of the opposite religion to that which is regarded as acceptable or to that of the person who is speaking
an expression of disbelief, often of the speaker's own preceding statement
he didn't know, my foot! Of course he did!
archaic in manner of movement
fleet of foot
walking or running
in progress; astir; afoot
informal near to death
informal in an auspicious manner
informal in an inauspicious manner
to make a mistake
to try to do one's best
to hurry
informal
to act firmly
to increase speed (in a motor vehicle) by pressing down on the accelerator
informal to blunder
to initiate or start (something)
to oppress
on the ground; beneath one's feet
to dance to music (esp in the phrase foot it )
(tr) to walk over or set foot on; traverse (esp in the phrase foot it )
(tr) to pay the entire cost of (esp in the phrase foot the bill )
archaic (usually foll by up) to add up
A unit of length in the US Customary System equal to 1/3 of a yard or 12 inches (30.48 centimeters).
See Table at measurement
In front of another noun, the plural for the unit of length is foot: a 20-foot putt; his 70-foot ketch. Foot can also be used instead of feet when mentioning a quantity and in front of words like tall: four foot of snow; he is at least six foot tall
before 900; Middle English; Old English fōt; cognate with German Fuss; akin to Latin pēs (stem ped- ), Greek poús (stem pod- )
Your foot is like your leg's hand, and a foot is twelve inches. When you walk, you go by foot. Since feet are so important, the word foot has many meanings. The main one is that thing below your ankle — people have feet, and so do many animals. The lower part of a bed is the foot of the bed — the foot of a mountain is also where you would expect it. The lower part of anything could be called a foot. Paying for something is footing the bill, and footing up a column of numbers is adding them up.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Compared with brachiopods, bivalves have greater energy demands because of their larger bodies and muscular "foot" that allows them to burrow and crawl.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
"They left their home on foot, I don't know why," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Officials said the 12 people who died were of different nationalities who had been trapped in vehicles and as they tried to flee on foot.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
“Get your foot in the door — experience is gold,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
We had known, of course, that when overcrowding reached a certain point, the sickest were taken to the brick building at the foot of the great square smokestack.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The 89-year-old was involved in miners' union discussions, hosted Arthur Scargill during the miners' strike, later met Michael Foot, and served as lifetime president of Tredegar RFC.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
My wife and I enjoyed a gel manicure and the signature Luxury Foot Retreat pedicure, complete with warm neck wraps and beverages.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
Dadhania explained that while this partially represents the fact that Nike products account for about 60% of Foot Locker’s total revenue, “lower quality inventory and/or softer sell through rates” may also be to blame.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
Dick’s Sporting Goods DKS 0.82%increase; green up pointing triangle reported higher fiscal first-quarter sales as its efforts to turn around the recently acquired Foot Locker delivered results.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
It’s the same crew of hornets and surftards that hang out at The Spot, minus the older guys like Fry and Zephyr and Big Foot, who’re probably downstairs.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
“Everyone knows there’s a lot more coming, and so I think there’s been a hesitancy to jump in with both feet here,” said Travis King, head of investment-grade corporates at Voya Investment Management.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The brick abode features five bedrooms across 6,516 square feet on over 6 acres.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
However, the television match official had spotted Kuruvoli's frustrated kick out at Genge while attempting to regain his feet after a tackle.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The quake zone's ability to get back on its feet depends on the success of the state in overseeing recovery.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Harsh, bellowing shouts, snorting, baying animals… wagon wheels rattling, whip cracks, and a bugler’s call and marching feet.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Levon White, a third-grader in Newman Lake, Wash., said he orders sushi once a month when he visits his best friend’s grandmother, who happily foots the bill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
It's not always obvious who foots the bill for campaign rallies.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2024
Lyle Foster has a pop from the edge of the box and a deflection almost wrong foots Ivo Grbic in the Sheffield United net but he manages to save.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2024
Marler also foots the bill for clients to testify in person.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2023
In South Carol-liney, if there was some nice smooth water like this big pond, folks would jus’ willy-nilly pull their shoes off and dip their foots in the water, then go home.
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
The 54-year-old, who lives in Virginia, said she had a higher salary and felt like she footed more of their expenses, including for their home and two kids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
He needs to make sure his team's response to this defeat is just as sure footed.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
One original capped with white chocolate and footed with dark.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2026
Many companies footed the bill for U.S. tariffs initially, in an effort to keep prices competitive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
But man, who has but two legs, was never made to perform the service of four footed beasts.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Platner could relate to disaffected Maine voters, the thinking went, because like many of them, he had never quite found his footing in life.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
The move comes as the U.S. and China seek to put their relations on more stable footing after years of tensions over trade, China’s military buildup and other issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
For Steven and his family, life is now on a stable footing.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
And while higher interest rates certainly could bite, they are also indicative of an economy that is on firmer footing.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Up the hill we went, on and on, until our arms and legs hurt so much that we kept losing our footing.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
