I. ˈhätˌfu̇t, usu -u̇d.+V adverb
Etymology: Middle English hot fot
: in haste : without delay : hastily
sent ambassadors hotfoot to the Turk — Francis Hackett
drove his vessel hotfoot for the Boston pier — Mary H. Vorse
II. intransitive verb
: to go hotfoot : hasten , hurry — usually used with it
hotfooting it north … with a Texas posse on its heels — W.F.Harris
transitive verb
: to give (someone) a hotfoot : goad
III. noun
( plural hotfoots )
Etymology: hot (I) + foot
1. : a practical joke in which a match is surreptitiously inserted in the side of a victim's shoe and lighted
2.
a. : a stinging rebuke : insult , taunt
administers one intellectual hotfoot after another to the Philistine public — Edgar Johnson
b. : goad , spur
has given tradition-bound Baltimore a hotfoot — Newsweek