hoof

American  

[hoof, hoof] / hʊf, huf /

noun

hoofs, plural hooves, plural hoof plural

1. the horny covering protecting the ends of the digits or encasing the foot in certain animals, as the ox and horse.

2. the entire foot of a horse, donkey, etc.

3. Older Use. a hoofed animal, especially one of a herd.

4. Informal. the human foot.

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verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to walk (often followed byit ).

   Let's hoof it to the supermarket.

verb (used without object)

1. Slang. to dance, especially to tap-dance.

   He's been hoofing at the Palladium.

idioms

1. on the hoof, (of livestock) not butchered; live.

   The city youngsters were seeing lambs on the hoof for the first time.

hoof British  

/ huːf /

noun

1. 1. the horny covering of the end of the foot in the horse, deer, and all other ungulate mammals

   2. ( in combination )

      a hoofbeat

2. the foot of an ungulate mammal

3. a hoofed animal

4. facetious a person's foot

5. 1. (of livestock) alive

   2. in an impromptu manner

      he did his thinking on the hoof

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verb

1. (tr) to kick or trample with the hoofs

2. slang

   1. to walk

   2. to dance

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hoofiness
  noun
• hoofless
  adjective
• hooflike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hoof
  plural
• hoofs
  plural
• hooves
  plural

Etymology

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

Explanation

A foot is to a human what a hoof is to a horse, a goat, or a giraffe. Each hoof protects the animal and helps it to walk and run. A hoof is made of keratin, just like your fingernails, but it tends to be thicker and harder since it has to bear the weight of the animal. Hoof can also be a verb that, surprisingly enough, applies to humans. Maybe you have offered someone a ride, only to be told, "No, I think I'll just hoof it," meaning walk or otherwise go on foot. Hoof is sometimes substituted for dance if the person doing it is getting paid.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hoof hoofs hooves

Foot-and-mouth causes fever and blisters near the hoof and in the mouth that prevent animals from feeding, as seen in the emaciated survivors.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

Black cars filled with political leaders and CEOs who didn’t want to hoof it on foot clogged up the town’s two-lane main streets, where the typical year-round population is around 11,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

Another said: "This one was inevitable. Policy making on the hoof inevitably sees the horse fall at the first fence."

From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026

The tips of each of the three hind toes were enclosed in a wedge-shaped hoof with a flat underside, similar to that of a horse.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025

“Come on, boy,” I say, pulling on his hoof.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

She knows she can nail this role and she really hoofs it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025

“There are scenes with galloping horses in the film, and the sound of the hoofs will match the rhythm of the music,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2024

They’ve already had a decent penalty appeal turned down and now they had a free-kick right on the edge of the D. Tom Lawrence hoofs it straight into the wall.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 19, 2022

The side effects they dreaded were far more terrifying: blindness, deafness, ulcers, a gruesome skin condition called “cowpox mange” — even sprouting hoofs and horns.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2021

The second part of my chores, the enjoying part, is divided into brushing the animals, tending to their hoofs, and my favourite part, helping make ’em comforted by keeping the horseflies off of’em.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

The horses are characterised by their "large size, long legs, well-developed musculature, slender and elegant head -- set on a long, straight neck -- expressive eyes, high withers and sturdy hooves," he added.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

In Colorado, Kimberly Jones has grown her herd of goats from 25 to 250 in seven years, deploying their efficient teeth, hooves and stomachs to clear undergrowth to stem the spread of flames.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

“At any given point, the pike was a symphony of spinning wheels, creaking cabs, clopping hooves, and droning livestock,” Mr. Crytzer writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

If the clomping hooves from the first horseman’s approaching steed got too loud, we’d just turn the music up.

From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025

Milk gave only drippings of milk, our one remaining hen had no eggs, and Nothing bellowed at me because his hooves were frozen to the ground.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Related Words

• paw