instep
Americannoun
-
insteps
plural
-
the arched upper surface of the human foot between the toes and the ankle.
-
the part of a shoe, stocking, etc., covering this surface.
-
the front of the hind leg of a horse, cow, etc., between the hock and the pastern joint; cannon.
noun
-
the middle section of the human foot, forming the arch between the ankle and toes
-
the part of a shoe, stocking, etc, covering this
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of instep
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:
It was hardly his best international goal - a scuff off his instep from Patrick Berg's pull-back that Ivorian keeper Yaya Fofana nearly grabbed off the line - but it is his most important.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
But he kept the kicking style, addressing the ball from an angle and hitting it with the instep of his foot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2024
He brought down one long pass to him during the recent Merseyside derby against Everton with the instep of his right foot that he had tucked behind his left leg.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2022
When he saw me slipping and sliding on our icy street, he showed me how to tie a sock around the instep of my boots, providing a little more traction.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 10, 2022
After a fifteen-minute walk, Immie scraped her instep on a rock.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
Because December 2006's goal of the month contest was powerful stuff; a 100%-proof cocktail of hollering commentators and screaming shots as semtex insteps hit the ball with gleeful abandon.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2024
As the ball rebounds off the hardwood floor he catches it with his feet, still dangling, and taps it around with his insteps, soccer-style.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2016
Women are so accustomed to the expectation that shoes will be uncomfortable—they will chafe our heels, or squash our toes, or make our insteps ache—that slipping on Birkenstocks felt revelatory.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 16, 2015
Mr. Lac, with broad shoulders, makes stunning effects of physical opposition; Mr. Fordeyn’s footwork both displays his gorgeously arched insteps and the witty force of his heels, while his free-floating arms have ravishing serenity.
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2014
Her feet were small and round and stubby, with fat insteps almost like little hoofs.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
