footwork

[foot-wurk]

noun

1. the use of the feet, foot, as in tennis, boxing, or dancing.

2. 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.

3. the act or process of maneuvering, especially in a skillful manner.

   It took a bit of fancy footwork to avoid the issue.

footwork

/ ˈfʊtˌwɜːk /

noun

1. skilful use of the feet, as in sports, dancing, etc

2. informal,  clever manoeuvring

   deft political footwork

3. informal,  preliminary groundwork

   many estate agents now do the footwork – you only need to visit

Word History and Origins

Origin of footwork¹

First recorded in 1560–70; foot + work

Example Sentences

During their training sessions, before doing any route running or footwork, they’d spend 30 minutes together catching the ball from every possible angle.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When the work day was over, he’d hurry back to campus for a cold plunge, footwork reps and hours of film review.

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"His footwork and his striking were incredible, his takedown defence was outstanding and I think he surprised Usman," said Hardy.

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"The metres she made were incredible, her footwork was incredible," added former Black Fern Ruby Tui.

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“It was a whole switch of mentality and culture and footwork,” Fitzgerald said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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• walk