hotfoot

[ hot-foo t ]

/ ˈhɒtˌfʊt /

noun, plural hot·foots.

a practical joke in which a match, inserted surreptitiously between the sole and upper of the victim's shoe, is lighted and allowed to burn down.

verb (used without object)

Informal. to go in great haste; walk or run hurriedly or rapidly (often followed by it): to hotfoot it to the bus stop.

adverb

with great speed in going; in haste.

Nearby words

hotel rack, hotelier, hotelkeeper, hotelman, hotere, hotfoot, hotfoot it, hothead, hotheaded, hothouse, hothouse lamb

Origin of hotfoot

1250–1300; Middle English hot fot (adv.). See hot, foot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hot-foot

For instance, in the story, "Hot-foot Hannibal," there figures a conjure doll with pepper feet.
The Conjure Woman|Charles W. Chesnutt
Yes, and we'll all hot-foot it to the burg of New York, and shoot-up the town!
The Boy from the Ranch|Frank V. Webster
If so, surely reason must banish such folly before another dawn and send him hot-foot at daybreak to the Red House.
Children of the Mist|Eden Phillpotts
In the matter of thirst I had persevered: being, as you may remember, hot-foot upon rabies just then and the salivary glands.
Foe-Farrell|Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

He then told us the guard was after us, hot-foot, and that it was too late.
Ned Myers|James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for hot-foot

hotfoot

/ (ˈhɒtˌfʊt) /

adverb

with all possible speed; quickly

verb

to move quickly

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