noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A foothold small enough to support just the toe.
2. 2
   a wrestling hold in which the toe is held and the leg is twisted against the joints wordnet
3. 3
   Any small advantage which allows one to make significant progress; a slight footing or foothold. broadly

   "Were Herat to fall to the Persians, this would give the Russians a crucial and dangerous toe-hold in western Afghanistan."

4. 4
   a small foothold used in climbing wordnet
5. 5
   A hold in which the aggressor bends back the opponent's foot.

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6. 6
   a relatively insignificant position from which future progress might be made wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

advantagebear hugbiteclampclaspclench

Example

More examples

"Were Herat to fall to the Persians, this would give the Russians a crucial and dangerous toe-hold in western Afghanistan."

Etymology

From toe + hold.

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