foe

[ foh ]
See synonyms for foe on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who feels enmity, hatred, or malice toward another; enemy: a bitter foe.

  2. a military enemy; hostile army.

  1. a person belonging to a hostile army or nation.

  2. an opponent in a game or contest; adversary: a political foe.

  3. a person who is opposed in feeling, principle, etc., to something: a foe to progress in civil rights.

  4. a thing that is harmful to or destructive of something: Sloth is the foe of health.

Origin of foe

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English foo, Old English fāh “hostile,” gefāh “enemy”; cognate with Old High German gifēh “at war”; see origin at feud1

synonym study For foe

1. See enemy.

Other words for foe

Opposites for foe

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Other definitions for F.O.E. (2 of 2)

F.O.E.

abbreviation
  1. Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use foe in a sentence

  • At last, tired of fighting an unseen foe, the men arose to their feet, and with a wild cheer sprang forward.

  • Be this as it may, his conduct during the campaign justified the suspicion with which he was regarded by friend and foe.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
  • Soult, by every effort of voice and gesture, attempted to force his veterans to face the foe, but in vain.

    Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
  • As his system is the foe of all artificial methods, it is par excellence the “Natural” System.

    Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
  • To be sure, I could not see where he could be of much assistance; but we had a common aim and a common foe.

British Dictionary definitions for foe (1 of 2)

foe

/ (fəʊ) /


noun
  1. formal, or literary another word for enemy

Origin of foe

1
Old English fāh hostile; related to Old High German fēhan to hate, Old Norse feikn dreadful; see feud 1

British Dictionary definitions for FoE (2 of 2)

FoE

abbreviation for
  1. Friends of the Earth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012