What does "foot" mean?
A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg.
Foot
/fʊt/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg.
- Grammar: foot is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: base, ft, pes, accent.
- Useful contrasts: icelandic toppur, conk, crest of a hill.
- Usage evidence: The church is at the foot of the hill.
How to use "foot"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "foot" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "foot" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "foot" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "foot" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "foot" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "base" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "foot", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg.
"A spider has eight feet."
- 2 travel by walking wordnet
- 3 Specifically, a human foot, which is found below the ankle and is used for standing and walking.
"Southern Italy is shaped like a foot."
- 4 the pedal extremity of vertebrates other than human beings wordnet
- 5 Travel by walking. attributive, often
"We went there by foot because we could not afford a taxi."
Show 32 more definitions
- 6 any of various organs of locomotion or attachment in invertebrates wordnet
- 7 The base or bottom of anything.
"I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs."
- 8 a support resembling a pedal extremity wordnet
- 9 The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest.
"We came and stood at the foot of the bed."
- 10 lowest support of a structure wordnet
- 11 The end of a rectangular table opposite the head.
"The host should sit at the foot of the table."
- 12 the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint wordnet
- 13 A short foot-like projection on the bottom of an object to support it.
"The feet of the stove hold it a safe distance above the floor."
- 14 (prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm wordnet
- 15 A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres.
"The flag pole, which is 20 feet high, was hoisted by a six-foot tall man."
- 16 an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot wordnet
- 17 A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres.; Ellipsis of square foot, a unit of area. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal
- 18 the lower part of anything wordnet
- 19 A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres.; Ellipsis of cubic foot, a unit of volume. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal
- 20 a member of a surveillance team who works on foot or rides as a passenger wordnet
- 21 A unit of measure for organ pipes equal to the wavelength of two octaves above middle C, approximately 328 mm.
- 22 a linear unit of length equal to 12 inches or a third of a yard wordnet
- 23 Foot soldiers; infantry. collective
"King John went to battle with ten thousand foot and one thousand horse."
- 24 The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting.
"He removes a gold lighter from his pocket, flips it open, and waves the flame over the foot, taking short, sucking pulls off the head till it’s lit."
- 25 The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward.
- 26 The bottommost part of a typed or printed page.
- 27 The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove.
- 28 The basic measure of rhythm in a poem.
- 29 The parsing of syllables into prosodic constituents, which are used to determine the placement of stress in languages along with the notions of constituent heads.
- 30 The bottom edge of a sail.
"To make the mainsail fuller in shape, the outhaul is eased to reduce the tension on the foot of the sail."
- 31 The end of a billiard or pool table behind the foot point where the balls are racked.
- 32 In a bryophyte, that portion of a sporophyte which remains embedded within and attached to the parent gametophyte plant.
"(b) sporophyte with foot reduced, the entire sporophyte enveloped by the calyptra, which is ± stipitate at the base."
- 33 The muscular part of a bivalve mollusc or a gastropod by which it moves or holds its position on a surface.
- 34 The globular lower domain of a protein.
- 35 The point of intersection of one line with another that is perpendicular to it.
- 36 Fundamental principle; basis; plan.
"To conſider the vvhole of the Subject, to read and think on all ſides, to object plainly, and anſvver directly, upon the foot of dry Reaſon and Argument, vvou'd be a very tedious and troubleſome Affair."
- 37 Recognized condition; rank; footing.
"May 20, 1742, Horace Walpole, letter to Horace Mann As to his being on the foot of a servant."
Verb
- 1 To use the foot to kick (usually a ball). transitive
- 2 add a column of numbers wordnet
- 3 To pay (a bill). transitive
- 4 walk wordnet
- 5 To tread to measure of music; to dance; to trip; to skip.
"There's time enough, I hope, To foot a measure with the bonnie bride,"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 pay for something wordnet
- 7 To walk.
"thieves do foot by night"
- 8 To set foot on; to walk on. archaic
"[…] Or shepherd-boy, they featly foot the green"
- 9 To set on foot; to establish; to land. obsolete
"What confederacy have you with the traitors / Late footed in the kingdom?"
- 10 To renew the foot of (a stocking, etc.).
"I'll sew nether stocks and mend them and foot them too"
- 11 To sum up, as the numbers in a column; sometimes with up.
"to foot (or foot up) an account"
- 12 To spread out and stack up (turf sods) to allow them to dry. Ireland, transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
"Michael Foot (1913–2010) was a British politician."
Example
"The church is at the foot of the hill."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "foot"?
Common synonyms include: base, ft, pes, accent, accentuation, add.
How do you use "foot" in a sentence?
The church is at the foot of the hill.
How do you pronounce "foot"?
Pronounced /fʊt/.
Etymology
From Middle English fot, fote, foot, from Old English fōt, from Proto-West Germanic *fōt, from Proto-Germanic *fōts, from Proto-Indo-European *pṓds. Doublet of pes, pie (“Spanish unit of length”), and pous. Cognates *Scots fit (“foot”) *Yola voote (“foot”) *North Frisian fut, fötj (“foot”) *Saterland Frisian Fout (“foot”) *West Frisian foet (“foot”) *Cimbrian buus, vuaz, vuus (“foot”) *Dutch voet (“foot”) *Dutch Low Saxon voot (“foot”) *German Fuß, Fuss (“foot”) *German Low German Faut, Foot (“foot”) *Gottscheerish vúəs (“foot”) *Luxembourgish Fouss (“foot”) *Mòcheno vuas (“foot”) *Vilamovian füs (“foot”) *Yiddish פֿוס (fus, “foot”) *Danish fod (“foot”) *Faroese, Icelandic fótur (“foot”) *Jamtish fót (“foot”) *Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish fot (“foot”) *Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐍄𐌿𐍃 (fōtus, “foot”).