I. foot 1 S1 W1 /fʊt/ BrE AmE noun ( plural feet /fiːt/) [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: fot ]
1 . BODY PART the part of your body that you stand on and walk on:
My foot hurts.
I had blisters on the soles of my feet.
I dropped a glass earlier, so don’t walk around in bare feet.
The vet examined the horse’s hind feet.
Don’t wipe your feet on the carpet!
She stood on the platform, her suitcase at her feet.
2 . MEASUREMENT ( plural feet or foot ) ( written abbreviation ft ) a unit for measuring length, equal to 12 ↑ inch es or about 30 centimetres:
He’s six feet tall, with blonde hair.
Mark was standing just a few feet away from me.
I’d say she’s about five foot three (=five feet and three inches) .
a one/two/three etc foot something
a four foot wall
square feet/cubic feet
15,000 square feet of office space
3 . BOTTOM PART the foot of something the lowest or bottom part of something
the foot of the stairs/ladder etc
He walked to the foot of the stairs.
the foot of a mountain/cliff etc
a small cottage at the foot of the hill
at the foot of something
a large wooden trunk at the foot of his bed
The date is shown at the foot of the page.
4 . on foot if you go somewhere on foot, you walk there:
It takes about 30 minutes on foot, or 10 minutes by car.
5 . get/jump/rise etc to your feet to stand up after you have been sitting:
He leapt to his feet and ran outside.
6 . on your feet
a) to be standing for a long time without having time to sit down:
The worst thing about working in the shop is that you’re on your feet all day.
⇨ dead on your feet at ↑ dead 1 (8)
b) to be standing up:
As soon as the bell rang the class were on their feet and out of the door.
c) to feel better again after being ill and in bed:
We’ll soon have you on your feet again.
7 . be/get back on your feet to have enough money again, or to be successful again after having problems:
I need to get back on my feet again and forget all this.
8 . off your feet sitting or lying down, rather than standing or walking:
The doctor told me to stay off my feet for a few days.
9 . knock/lift etc somebody off their feet to make someone fall over:
They were blown off their feet by the force of the explosion.
10 . be rushed/run off your feet to be very busy:
Before Christmas, most salespeople are rushed off their feet.
11 . set foot in something to go to or enter a place:
She swore she would never set foot in his house again.
12 . be/get under your feet to annoy you by always being in the same place as you and preventing you from doing what you want:
I hate summer vacation. The kids are under my feet all day long.
13 . put your foot down
a) to say very firmly that someone must do something or must stop doing something:
You’ll just have to put your foot down and tell him he can’t stay out on school nights.
b) informal to make a car go faster
14 . put your feet up informal to relax, especially by sitting with your feet supported on something
15 . put your foot in it especially British English , put your foot in your mouth especially American English to say something without thinking carefully, so that you embarrass or upset someone:
I’ve really put my foot in it this time. I didn’t realize that was her husband!
16 . start/get off on the wrong/right foot to start a relationship badly or well:
Simon and I got off on the wrong foot but we’re good friends now.
17 . not put a foot wrong British English to do everything right and make no mistakes, especially in your job
18 . have/keep both feet on the ground to think in a sensible and practical way and not have ideas or aims that will be impossible to achieve:
It was a great result, but we have to keep our feet firmly on the ground.
19 . fall/land on your feet to get into a good situation because you are lucky, especially after being in a difficult situation:
Don’t worry about Nina, she always falls on her feet.
20 . get/have/keep your foot in the door to get your first opportunity to work in a particular organization or industry
21 . have a foot in both camps to be involved with or connected with two opposing groups of people
22 . have somebody/something at your feet used to say that people admire or respect someone very much:
All Paris was at his feet.
⇨ have the world at your feet at ↑ world 1 (24)
23 . have two left feet informal to be very ↑ clumsy
24 . have one foot in the grave to be very old or very ill – used humorously
25 . ... my foot! British English old-fashioned used to show that you do not believe something that someone has just said:
£50 my foot! It’ll cost £200 at least.
26 . leave feet first to die before you leave a place or job – used humorously:
If you keep fooling around with that gun you’ll be leaving this camp feet first.
27 . feet of clay someone that you admire who has feet of clay has faults and weaknesses that you did not realize they had
28 . foot soldier/patrol a soldier or group of soldiers that walks and does not use a horse or a vehicle
29 . foot passenger a passenger on a ship who has not brought a car with them
30 .
a) left-footed/right-footed using your left foot or right foot when you kick a ball
b) flat-footed/four-footed having a particular type or number of feet
31 . foot pedal/brake/pump etc a machine or control that you operate using your feet
32 . SOCK the foot the part of a sock that covers your foot
33 . POETRY technical a part of a line of poetry in which there is one strong ↑ beat and one or two weaker ones
⇨ the boot is on the other foot at ↑ boot 1 (6), ⇨ get/have cold feet at ↑ cold 1 (6), ⇨ ↑ underfoot , ⇨ drag your feet/heels at ↑ drag 1 (8), ⇨ find your feet at ↑ find 1 (18), ⇨ from head to foot at ↑ head 1 (1), ⇨ stand on your own (two) feet at ↑ stand 1 (31), ⇨ sweep somebody off their feet at ↑ sweep 1 (14), ⇨ have itchy feet at ↑ itchy (3), ⇨ not let the grass grow under your feet at ↑ grass 1 (6), ⇨ vote with your feet at ↑ vote 1 (8)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ left foot
My left foot ached a bit.
▪ right foot
He has broken a bone in his right foot.
▪ front foot (=of an animal)
The tiger has five claws in each of its front feet.
▪ back/hind foot (=of an animal)
The horse lifted its back foot.
▪ big/small
He had small neat feet.
▪ bare (=without any socks or shoes)
The marble floor felt cold under his bare feet.
▪ flat (=having a medical condition in which someone’s feet rest flat on the ground, with no curved part)
We’ve both got slightly flat feet.
▪ booted/sandalled feet (=wearing boots or sandals)
He put down his rucksack and stretched out his booted feet.
■ verbs
▪ injure/hurt your foot
Simon injured his foot while playing rugby.
▪ sb’s foot hurts
She complained that her foot was hurting.
▪ raise/lift your feet
He raised his foot off the floor and rested it on a chair.
▪ drag your feet (=walk slowly in an unwilling way)
I was dragging my feet because I didn’t want to get there.
▪ wipe your feet (=wipe your shoes on a mat to remove dirt)
Be sure to wipe your feet before coming into the house.
▪ stamp your feet (=bang them noisily on the ground)
He stamped his feet in an attempt to keep warm.
▪ tap your feet (=bang them gently on the ground)
She was tapping her feet in time with the music.
▪ shuffle your feet (=make small movements with them, because you are nervous or impatient)
Ken shuffled his feet and looked down at the floor.
■ foot + NOUN
▪ a foot injury
He suffered a foot injury during the match against Sporting Lisbon.
▪ a foot massage
Would you like a foot massage?
■ phrases
▪ the sole of your foot (=the base of your foot, that you walk on)
The soles of her feet were aching from the long walk.
▪ the ball of your foot (=the rounded part of your foot at the base of the toes)
He has a blister on the ball of his foot.
▪ the heel of your foot (=the curved back part of your foot )
He kicked his opponent with the heel of his foot.
▪ at sb’s feet (=on the ground, near your feet)
The dog was sitting at his master’s feet.
▪ in your stockinged/stocking feet (=not wearing shoes)
She stood 5ft 6 inches tall in her stockinged feet.
▪ my feet are killing me informal (=my feet are hurting)
II. foot 2 BrE AmE verb
foot the bill to pay for something, especially something expensive that you do not want to pay for:
He ordered drinks and then left me to foot the bill!