hoof

[ hoof, hoof ]
See synonyms for hoof on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural hoofs or hooves [hoovz, hoovz] /hʊvz, huvz/ for 1, 2, 4; hoof for 3.
  1. the horny covering protecting the ends of the digits or encasing the foot in certain animals, as the ox and horse.

  2. the entire foot of a horse, donkey, etc.

  1. Older Use. a hoofed animal, especially one of a herd.

  2. Informal. the human foot.

verb (used with object)
  1. Slang. to walk (often followed by it): Let's hoof it to the supermarket.

verb (used without object)
  1. Slang. to dance, especially to tap-dance: He's been hoofing at the Palladium.

Idioms about hoof

plural hoof.
  1. on the hoof, (of livestock) not butchered; live: The city youngsters were seeing lambs on the hoof for the first time.

Origin of hoof

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English hōf; cognate with Old Frisian hōf, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Old Norse hōfr; compare Sanskrit śaphas

Other words from hoof

  • hoof·i·ness, noun
  • hoofless, adjective
  • hooflike, adjective

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

British Dictionary definitions for hoof

hoof

/ (huːf) /


nounplural hooves (huːvz) or hoofs
    • the horny covering of the end of the foot in the horse, deer, and all other ungulate mammals

    • (in combination): a hoofbeat Related adjective: ungular

  1. the foot of an ungulate mammal

  1. a hoofed animal

  2. facetious a person's foot

  3. on the hoof

    • (of livestock) alive

    • in an impromptu manner: he did his thinking on the hoof

verb
  1. (tr) to kick or trample with the hoofs

  2. hoof it slang

    • to walk

    • to dance

Origin of hoof

1
Old English hōf; related to Old Norse hōfr, Old High German huof (German Huf), Sanskrit saphás

Derived forms of hoof

  • hoofless, adjective
  • hooflike, adjective

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