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hoof

[ hoof, hoof ]
/ hʊf, huf /
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See synonyms for: hoof / hoofed / hoofing / hooves on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural hoofs or hooves [hoovz, hoovz] /hʊvz, huvz/ for 1, 2, 4; hoof for 3.
the horny covering protecting the ends of the digits or encasing the foot in certain animals, as the ox and horse.
the entire foot of a horse, donkey, etc.
Older Use. a hoofed animal, especially one of a herd.
Informal. the human foot.
verb (used with object)
Slang. to walk (often followed by it): Let's hoof it to the supermarket.
verb (used without object)
Slang. to dance, especially to tap-dance: He's been hoofing at the Palladium.
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Idioms about hoof

plural hoof.
    on the hoof, (of livestock) not butchered; live: The city youngsters were seeing lambs on the hoof for the first time.

Origin of hoof

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English hōf; cognate with Old Frisian hōf, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Old Norse hōfr; compare Sanskrit śaphas

OTHER WORDS FROM hoof

hoof·i·ness, nounhoofless, adjectivehooflike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hoof in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hoof

hoof
/ (huːf) /

noun plural hooves (huːvz) or hoofs
verb
(tr) to kick or trample with the hoofs
hoof it slang
  1. to walk
  2. to dance

Derived forms of hoof

hoofless, adjectivehooflike, adjective

Word Origin for hoof

Old English hōf; related to Old Norse hōfr, Old High German huof (German Huf), Sanskrit saphás
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
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