Afoot

//əˈfʊt// adj, adv

adj, adv ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    That is on foot, in motion, in action, in progress. not-comparable, predicative

    "Sunny moves through these final days quickly, easily, buoyed by routine even though change is afoot in all directions."

Adjective
  1. 1
    currently in progress wordnet
  2. 2
    traveling by foot wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    On foot. (means of locomotion, walking) not-comparable

    "Is it fit, let your mightyship say, / That I, like some pitiful flirt, / Should tarry within doors all day, / Or else trudge it afoot in the dirt?"

  2. 2
    On foot. (support of the body, standing) not-comparable
  3. 3
    In motion; in action; astir; stirring; in progress. figuratively, not-comparable

    "Hamlet: […]I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot, / Even with the very comment of thy soul / Observe mine uncle:[…]"

Adverb
  1. 1
    on foot; walking wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
on footunderwayabroachaccidentalaccompanyingactive

Example

More examples

""The game's afoot" is Holmes's laconic call to action."

Etymology

From a- + foot.

More for "afoot"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.