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footsie

American  
[foot-see] / ˈfʊt si /
Also footsy,

noun

Informal.
  1. Sometimes footsies. the act of flirting or sharing a surreptitious intimacy.


idioms

  1. play footsie / footsies with,

    1. to flirt with, especially by clandestinely touching someone's foot or leg; be slyly or furtively intimate with.

    2. to seek advantage from, especially by discreet or stealthy means; curry favor with.

Footsie 1 British  
/ ˈfʊtsɪ /

noun

  1. an informal name for Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index

"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

footsie 2 British  
/ ˈfʊtsɪ /

noun

  1. informal flirtation involving the touching together of feet, knees, etc (esp in the phrase play footsie )

"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 footsie

First recorded in 1930–35; foot + -sie, spelling variant of -sy

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.

See Examples For:

At this point, we’re only playing debasement footsie.

From Barron's Jan. 30, 2026

More perplexing is that he was able to do so among some of the game’s top players, who at least played footsie with the notion that Naroditsky cheated, despite speculative-at-best reasoning.

From Slate Nov. 1, 2025

Ms. Haley’s campaign events are gathering grounds for a mix of voters who are yearning to move past Mr. Trump and others who are playing footsie with the idea.

From Washington Times Jan. 1, 2024

Anyway, in the filing, Musk says he doesn’t want to play footsie with Twitter.

From The Verge Apr. 14, 2022

Nancy knew everyone from school—except a little girl running around in footsie pajamas.

From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene

But it was Sutton's guests, grime stars Footsie and Strategy, who took the weekly win to move back to the top of the table with only two weeks to go.

From BBC May 15, 2025

Before beginning his music career, Footsie was a talented footballer in his youth.

From BBC May 8, 2025

“Thank God,” Cade said as she returned home to her cats, Stevie and Footsie, after spending the night in a hotel for safety.

From Washington Post Aug. 27, 2020

Footsie, “the one-man band,” played techno remixes of wedding party classics like “Y.M.C.A.” on a synthesizer as blue, green and red lights pulsed overhead.

From New York Times Apr. 26, 2017

A cheap pound drives up the value of multinational firms listed on the Footsie, as it means their overseas earnings are worth more when converted into sterling.

From The Guardian Jan. 9, 2017

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