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8 dictionary results for: Feet

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feet

[feet] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a pl. of foot.

—Idioms

2.	drag one's feet, to act or proceed slowly or without enthusiasm; to be reluctant to act, comply, etc.: We can't begin the project until the steering committee stops dragging its feet.

on one's feet,

a.	in a standing position.

b.	in an independent or secure position: The loan helped him get on his feet again.

c.	in a restored or recovered state; able to continue: Psychotherapy helped her get back on her feet after her breakdown.

4.	sit at the feet of, to attend upon as a disciple or follower: American writers and painters no longer sit at the feet of Europeans.

stand on one's own feet,

a.	to be financially self-supporting.

b.	to be independent: Overprotective parents do not prepare their children to stand on their own feet.

Also, stand on one's own two feet.

6.	sweep one off one's feet, to impress or overwhelm by ability, enthusiasm, or charm: The gaiety of the occasion swept them off their feet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

foot

[foo

t] Pronunciation Key noun, plural feet for 1–4, 8–11, 16, 19, 21; foots for 20; verb

–noun

1.	(in vertebrates) the terminal part of the leg, below the ankle joint, on which the body stands and moves.

2.	(in invertebrates) any part similar in position or function.

3.	such a part considered as the organ of locomotion.

4.	a unit of length, originally derived from the length of the human foot. It is divided into 12 inches and equal to 30.48 centimeters. Abbreviation: ft., f.

5.	foot soldiers; infantry.

6.	walking or running motion; pace: swift of foot.

7.	quality or character of movement or motion; tread; step.

8.	any part or thing resembling a foot, as in function, placement, shape, etc.

Furniture.

a.	a shaped or ornamented feature terminating a leg at its lower part.

b.	any of several short legs supporting a central shaft, as of a pedestal table.

10.	a rim, flange, or flaring part, often distinctively treated, serving as a base for a table furnishing or utensil, as a glass, teapot, or candlestick.

11.	the part of a stocking, sock, etc., covering the foot.

12.	the lowest part, or bottom, of anything, as of a hill, ladder, page, etc.

13.	a supporting part; base.

14.	the part of anything opposite the top or head: He waited patiently at the foot of the checkout line.

15.	the end of a bed, grave, etc., toward which the feet are placed: Put the blanket at the foot of the bed, please.

16.	Printing. the part of the type body that forms the sides of the groove, at the base.

17.	the last, as of a series.

18.	that which is written at the bottom, as the total of an account.

19.	Prosody. a group of syllables constituting a metrical unit of a verse.

20.

Usually, foots.

a.	sediment or dregs.

b.	footlights.

21.	Nautical. the lower edge of a sail.

–verb (used without object)

22.	to walk; go on foot (often fol. by it): We'll have to foot it.

23.	to move the feet rhythmically, as to music or in dance (often fol. by it).

24.	(of vessels) to move forward; sail: to foot briskly across the open water.

–verb (used with object)

25.	to walk or dance on: footing the cobblestones of the old city.

26.	to perform (a dance): cavaliers footing a galliard.

27.	to traverse on or as if on foot.

28.	to make or attach a foot to: to foot a stocking.

29.	to pay or settle: I always end up footing the bill.

30.	to add (a column of figures) and set the sum at the foot (often fol. by up).

31.	to seize with talons, as a hawk.

32.	to establish.

33.	Archaic. to kick, esp. to kick away.

34.	Obsolete. to set foot on.

—Idioms

35.	get or have a or one's foot in the door, to succeed in achieving an initial stage or step.

36.	get off on the right or wrong foot, to begin favorably or unfavorably: He got off on the wrong foot with a tactless remark about his audience.

37.	have one foot in the grave. grave¹ (def. 5).

38.	on foot, by walking or running, rather than by riding.

39.

put one's best foot forward,

a.	to attempt to make as good an impression as possible.

b.	to proceed with all possible haste; hurry.

40.	put one's foot down, to take a firm stand; be decisive or determined.

41.	put one's foot in it or into it, Informal. to make an embarrassing blunder. Also, put one's foot in or into one's mouth.

42.	set foot on or in, to go on or into; enter: Don't set foot in this office again!

43.	under foot, in the way: That cat is always under foot when I'm getting dinner.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE fōt; c. G Fuss; akin to L pés (s. ped-), Gk poús (s. pod-)

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

feet (fēt) Pronunciation Key
n. Plural of foot.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

foot (fŏŏt) Pronunciation Key

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n. pl. feet (fēt)

The lower extremity of the vertebrate leg that is in direct contact with the ground in standing or walking.
A structure used for locomotion or attachment in an invertebrate animal, such as the muscular organ extending from the ventral side of a mollusk.
Something suggestive of a foot in position or function, especially:
1. The lowest part; the bottom: the foot of a mountain; the foot of a page.
2. The end opposite the head, top, or front: the foot of a bed; the foot of a parade.
3. The termination of the leg of a piece of furniture, especially when shaped or modeled.
4. The part of a sewing machine that holds down and guides the cloth.
5. Nautical The lower edge of a sail.
6. Printing The part of a type body that forms the sides of the groove at the base.
7. Botany The base of the sporophyte in mosses and liverworts.
8. A manner of moving; a step: walks with a light foot.
9. Speed or momentum, as in a race: "the only other Democrats who've demonstrated any foot till now" (Michael Kramer).
The inferior part or rank: at the foot of the class.
The part of a stocking or high-topped boot that encloses the foot.
1. A manner of moving; a step: walks with a light foot.
2. Speed or momentum, as in a race: "the only other Democrats who've demonstrated any foot till now" (Michael Kramer).
(used with a pl. verb) Foot soldiers; infantry.
A unit of poetic meter consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables in any of various set combinations. For example, an iambic foot has an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable.
Abbr. ft. or ft A unit of length in the U.S. Customary and British Imperial systems equal to 12 inches (0.3048 meter). See Table at measurement.
foots Sediment that forms during the refining of oil and other liquids; dregs.

v. foot·ed, foot·ing, foots

v. intr.

To go on foot; walk. Often used with it: When their car broke down, they had to foot it the rest of the way.
To dance. Often used with it: "We foot it all the night/weaving olden dances" (William Butler Yeats).
Nautical To make headway; sail.

v. tr.

To go by foot over, on, or through; tread.
To execute the steps of (a dance).
To add up (a column of numbers) and write the sum at the bottom; total: footed up the bill.
To pay; defray: footed the expense of their children's education.
To provide (a stocking, for example) with a foot.

[Middle English fot, from Old English fōt; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: In Standard English, foot and feet have their own rules when they are used in combination with numbers to form expressions for units of measure: a four-foot plank, but not a four feet plank; also correct is a plank four feet long (or, less frequently, four foot long). When foot is combined with numbers greater than one to refer to simple distance, however, only the plural feet is used: a ledge 20 feet (not foot) away. At that speed, a car moves 88 feet (not foot) in a second.

Our Living Language : Some people in New England and the South use constructions such as three foot and five mile in place of Standard English three feet and five miles in certain contexts. Some speakers extend this practice to measures of time, as in He was gone three year, though this is not as common. Interestingly, such constructions are used only if a specific numeral (other than one) precedes the noun. Thus, She gave me four gallon of cider can be heard in vernacular speech; however, no one would say She gave me gallon of cider for She gave me gallons of cider. This is because the numeral makes apparent the plural meaning that would not be specified if both the numeral and the plural form were omitted. See Notes at comparative, plural, redundancy.