footwork
Americannoun
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the use of the feet, as in tennis, boxing, or dancing.
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travel by foot from one place to another, as in gathering facts or fulfilling an assignment; legwork.
The project entailed a great deal of footwork.
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the act or process of maneuvering, especially in a skillful manner.
It took a bit of fancy footwork to avoid the issue.
noun
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skilful use of the feet, as in sports, dancing, etc
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informal clever manoeuvring
deft political footwork
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informal preliminary groundwork
many estate agents now do the footwork – you only need to visit
Etymology
Origin of footwork
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.
As he and his wife watched his beloved Ducks lose to a beleaguered Oklahoma State team, Woodin spotted a dead giveaway in Moore’s footwork.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The more competitive environment will offer a better indication of their fitness, allowing them to sharpen up their footwork and find more rhythm with minutes on a match court.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
“I thought it was a great time to be able to master my footwork, and then to come back out and just play fast and not have to worry about it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Already, McDaniel has done some tinkering and fine-tuning, tweaking Herbert’s footwork out of the shotgun formation to allow him to get the ball out of his hands a fraction of a second earlier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
It was hard for the rest of us not to feel frustrated by her incredible footwork.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
