back foot
Britishnoun
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.
"He's on the back foot," Tim Bale, a political analyst at Queen Mary University of London, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
“Historically, we’ve seen Rhaenyra on the back foot in a kind of reactionary position. In the start of Season 3, she’s in a position of real strategic political power.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
But parts of the 600-mile front line are now contested in both directions, unlike in 2025, when Ukraine was on the back foot almost everywhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Huge steps made by Red Bull this weekend but an uncharacteristic mistake on the first lap sending him into a spin left him on the back foot.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
I’m on the back foot already, embarrassed, ashamed.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
