underfoot

[ uhn-der-foot ]
See synonyms for underfoot on Thesaurus.com
adverb
  1. under the foot or feet; on the ground; underneath or below: The climb was difficult because there were so many rocks underfoot.

  2. so as to form an obstruction, as in walking; in the way: the ends of her sash falling constantly underfoot.

adjective
  1. lying under the foot or feet; in a position to be trodden upon.

Origin of underfoot

1
1150–1200; Middle English underfot (adv.). See under-, foot

Words Nearby underfoot

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

How to use underfoot in a sentence

  • It is very unlikely though that there is an epidemic underfoot in California.

  • They wish to indulge their sense of power, which is best done by grinding underfoot those who cannot retaliate.

    Why We Must Defend Writers | Margaret Atwood | April 30, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Not while I had the open prairie underfoot and the summer sky above, and hands to strike a blow or pull a trigger.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • The walls were covered with silk and velvet hangings, ornamented with gold fringe, while rich carpets were spread underfoot.

  • But, underfoot, beyond question, lay nothing but the broken heaps of stones that betokened a building long since crumbled to dust.

    Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
  • The ground shook and shook underfoot, each shock seeming greater, to add its strength to the one preceding it.

    Valley of the Croen | Lee Tarbell
  • They trod a strange soil, strange flowers underfoot, strange birds in the air, strange leaves on the trees.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis

British Dictionary definitions for underfoot

underfoot

/ (ˌʌndəˈfʊt) /


adverb
  1. underneath the feet; on the ground

  2. in a position of subjugation or subservience

  1. in the way

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