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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

foot       (fŏŏt)  Pronunciation Key  (click for larger image in new window) 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: The lowest part; the bottom: the foot of a mountain; the foot of a page. The end opposite the head, top, or front: the foot of a bed; the foot of a parade. The termination of the leg of a piece of furniture, especially when shaped or modeled. The part of a sewing machine that holds down and guides the cloth. Nautical The lower edge of a sail. Printing The part of a type body that forms the sides of the groove at the base. Botany The base of the sporophyte in mosses and liverworts. A manner of moving; a step: walks with a light foot. 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. A manner of moving; a step: walks with a light foot. 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.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
foot 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

foot
noun
1.	the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint; "his bare feet projected from his trousers"; "armored from head to foot"
2.	a linear unit of length equal to 12 inches or a third of a yard; "he is six feet tall"
3.	the lower part of anything; "curled up on the foot of the bed"; "the foot of the page"; "the foot of the list"; "the foot of the mountain" [ant: head]
4.	the pedal extremity of vertebrates other than human beings [syn: animal foot]
5.	lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower" [syn: foundation]
6.	any of various organs of locomotion or attachment in invertebrates
7.	travel by walking; "he followed on foot"; "the swiftest of foot"
8.	a member of a surveillance team who works on foot or rides as a passenger
9.	an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot; "there came ten thousand horsemen and as many fully-armed foot" [syn: infantry]
10.	(prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm [syn: metrical foot]
11.	a support resembling a pedal extremity; "one foot of the chair was on the carpet"
verb
1.	pay for something; "pick up the tab"; "pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages"; "foot the bill"
2.	walk; "let's hoof it to the disco"
3.	add a column of numbers

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

foot

In addition to the idioms beginning with foot, also see bound hand and foot; caught flat-footed; get off on the wrong foot; not touch with a ten-foot pole; one foot in the grave; on foot; on the right foot; play footsie; put one's best foot forward; put one's foot down; put one's foot in it; set foot; shoe is on the other foot; shoot oneself in the foot; wait on hand and foot. Also see under feet.

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

foot       (ft)  Pronunciation Key  Plural feet (fēt) A unit of length in the US Customary System equal to 1/3 of a yard or 12 inches (30.48 centimeters). See Table at measurement.

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

foot (f&oobreve;t)
n. pl. feet (fēt)

1. The lower extremity of the vertebrate leg that is in direct contact with the ground in standing or walking.
2. A unit of length in the U.S. Customary and British Imperial systems equal to 12 inches (30.48 centimeters).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foot

Foot\ (f[oo^]t), n.; pl. Feet (f[=e]t). [OE. fot, foot, pl. fet, feet. AS. f[=o]t, pl. f[=e]t; akin to D. voet, OHG. fuoz, G. fuss, Icel. f[=o]tr, Sw. fot, Dan. fod, Goth. f[=o]tus, L. pes, Gr. poy`s, Skr. p[=a]d, Icel. fet step, pace measure of a foot, feta to step, find one's way. [root]77, 250. Cf. Antipodes, Cap-a-pie, Expedient, Fet to fetch, Fetlock, Fetter, Pawn a piece in chess, Pedal.]

1. (Anat.) The terminal part of the leg of man or an animal; esp., the part below the ankle or wrist; that part of an animal upon which it rests when standing, or moves. See Manus, and Pes.

2. (Zo["o]l.) The muscular locomotive organ of a mollusk. It is a median organ arising from the ventral region of body, often in the form of a flat disk, as in snails. See Illust. of Buccinum.

3. That which corresponds to the foot of a man or animal; as, the foot of a table; the foot of a stocking.

4. The lowest part or base; the ground part; the bottom, as of a mountain or column; also, the last of a row or series; the end or extremity, esp. if associated with inferiority; as, the foot of a hill; the foot of the procession; the foot of a class; the foot of the bed.

And now at foot Of heaven's ascent they lift their feet. --Milton.

5. Fundamental principle; basis; plan; -- used only in the singular.

Answer directly upon the foot of dry reason. --Berkeley.

6. Recognized condition; rank; footing; -- used only in the singular. [R.]

As to his being on the foot of a servant. --Walpole.

7. A measure of length equivalent to twelve inches; one third of a yard. See Yard.

Note: This measure is supposed to be taken from the length of a man's foot. It differs in length in different countries. In the United States and in England it is 304.8 millimeters.

8. (Mil.) Soldiers who march and fight on foot; the infantry, usually designated as the foot, in distinction from the cavalry. "Both horse and foot." --Milton.

9. (Pros.) A combination of syllables consisting a metrical element of a verse, the syllables being formerly distinguished by their quantity or length, but in modern poetry by the accent.

10. (Naut.) The lower edge of a sail.

Note: Foot is often used adjectively, signifying of or pertaining to a foot or the feet, or to the base or lower part. It is also much used as the first of compounds.

Foot artillery. (Mil.) (a) Artillery soldiers serving in foot. (b) Heavy artillery. --Farrow.

Foot bank (Fort.), a raised way within a parapet.

Foot barracks (Mil.), barracks for infantery.

Foot bellows, a bellows worked by a treadle. --Knight.

Foot company (Mil.), a company of infantry. --Milton.

Foot gear, covering for the feet, as stocking, shoes, or boots.

Foot hammer (Mach.), a small tilt hammer moved by a treadle.

Foot iron. (a) The step of a carriage. (b) A fetter.

Foot jaw. (Zo["o]l.) See Maxilliped.

Foot key (Mus.), an organ pedal.

Foot level (Gunnery), a form of level used in giving any proposed angle of elevation to a piece of ordnance. --Farrow.

Foot mantle, a long garment to protect the dress in riding; a riding skirt. [Obs.]

Foot page, an errand boy; an attendant. [Obs.]

Foot passenger, one who passes on foot, as over a road or bridge.

Foot pavement, a paved way for foot passengers; a footway; a trottoir.

Foot poet, an inferior poet; a poetaster. [R.] --Dryden.

Foot post. (a) A letter carrier who travels on foot. (b) A mail delivery by means of such carriers.

Fot pound, & Foot poundal. (Mech.) See Foot pound and Foot poundal, in the Vocabulary.

Foot press (Mach.), a cutting, embossing, or printing press, moved by a treadle.

Foot race, a race run by persons on foot. --Cowper.

Foot rail, a railroad rail, with a wide flat flange on the lower side.

Foot rot, an ulcer in the feet of sheep; claw sickness.

Foot rule, a rule or measure twelve inches long.

Foot screw, an adjusting screw which forms a foot, and serves to give a machine or table a level standing on an uneven place.

Foot secretion. (Zo["o]l.) See Sclerobase.

Foot soldier, a soldier who serves on foot.

Foot stick (Printing), a beveled piece of furniture placed against the foot of the page, to hold the type in place.

Foot stove, a small box, with an iron pan, to hold hot coals for warming the feet.

Foot tubercle. (Zo["o]l.) See Parapodium.

Foot valve (Steam Engine), the valve that opens to the air pump from the condenser.

Foot vise, a kind of vise the jaws of which are operated by a treadle.

Foot waling (Naut.), the inside planks or lining of a vessel over the floor timbers. --Totten.

Foot wall (Mining), the under wall of an inclosed vein.

By foot, or On foot, by walking; as, to pass a stream on foot.

Cubic foot. See under Cubic.

Foot and mouth disease, a contagious disease (Eczema epizo["o]tica) of cattle, sheep, swine, etc., characterized by the formation of vesicles and ulcers in the mouth and about the hoofs.

Foot of the fine (Law), the concluding portion of an acknowledgment in court by which, formerly, the title of land was conveyed. See Fine of land, under Fine, n.; also Chirograph. (b).

Square foot. See under Square.

To be on foot, to be in motion, action, or process of execution.

To keep the foot (Script.), to preserve decorum. "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God." --Eccl. v. 1.

To put one's foot down, to take a resolute stand; to be determined. [Colloq.]

To put the best foot foremost, to make a good appearance; to do one's best. [Colloq.]

To set on foot, to put in motion; to originate; as, to set on foot a subscription.

To put, or set, one on his feet, to put one in a position to go on; to assist to start.

Under foot. (a) Under the feet; (Fig.) at one's mercy; as, to trample under foot. --Gibbon. (b) Below par. [Obs.] "They would be forced to sell . . . far under foot." --Bacon.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foot

Foot\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Footed; p. pr. & vb. n. Footing.]

1. To tread to measure or music; to dance; to trip; to skip. --Dryden.

2. To walk; -- opposed to ride or fly. --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foot

Foot\, v. t. 1. To kick with the foot; to spurn. --Shak.

2. To set on foot; to establish; to land. [Obs.]

What confederacy have you with the traitors Late footed in the kingdom? --Shak.

3. To tread; as, to foot the green. --Tickell.

4. To sum up, as the numbers in a column; -- sometimes with up; as, to foot (or foot up) an account.

5. The size or strike with the talon. [Poet.] --Shak.

6. To renew the foot of, as of stocking. --Shak.

To foot a bill, to pay it. [Colloq.] -- To foot it, to walk; also, to dance.

If you are for a merry jaunt, I'll try, for once, who can foot it farthest. --Dryden.