foot

I UK [fʊt] / US noun
Word forms "foot":
singular foot plural feet UK [fiːt] / US [fɪt]
***

1) [countable] the part of your body at the end of your leg, on which you stand

Mary slid her feet into her sandals.

wipe your feet:

He wiped his feet on the mat.

stamp your feet:

They stamped their feet to keep warm (= brought them down hard on the ground).

shuffle your feet:

He looked at the teacher and shuffled his feet nervously.

beneath/under your feet:

The deck was slippery beneath her feet.

a) [countable] the part of a piece of clothing that covers your foot

a hole in the foot of her tights

b) [only before noun] operated using your foot or feet

a foot brake/pump

••

See:

boot I, left I, shoot I, stand I, think I

2) [countable]

Word forms "foot":
plural feet or foot a unit used for measuring length, containing 12 inches and equal to about 30 centimetres

The house is 275 feet above sea level.

The dining room measures 30 foot by 10.

We had over two feet of snow last night.

...feet long/high/wide/tall:

The boat is 25 feet long.

3)

a) [singular] the bottom of a slope, hill, set of stairs etc

foot of:

She paused at the foot of the stairs.

foot of a mountain/hill/slope/cliff:

We camped that night at the foot of the mountain.

b) the bottom of a page or a column of words or numbers

There was an error message at the foot of the page.

4)

a) [singular] the end of a bed where you put your feet

foot of:

Henry stood at the foot of the bed.

b) the end of a table opposite to the end where the most important person sits

A young officer at the foot of the table objected to the plan.

5) [countable] literature a section of a line of poetry that consists of one syllable (= part of a word) that you emphasize when speaking and one or more syllables that you do not emphasize

•

get/leap/rise/stagger etc to your feet — to stand up in a particular way after you have been sitting or lying

Steve pushed the blankets aside and rose to his feet.

get off on the right/wrong foot with someone — to immediately establish a good/bad relationship with someone when you first meet them or first start working with them

I got off on the wrong foot with Patrick.

have/get cold feet — to suddenly feel nervous about doing something that you have planned or agreed to do

Sally got cold feet at the last moment and called off the wedding.

have/keep your feet on the ground — to keep a sensible and practical attitude to life

Despite her sudden wealth and fame, she manages to keep her feet firmly on the ground.

land/fall on your feet — to be lucky and get into a good situation after being in a difficult one

Simon always manages to land on his feet.

rushed/run off your feet — very busy

We'll be rushed off our feet around lunchtime.

set foot on/in — to go to a place, especially when there is something special or unusual about you doing this

set foot on/in in:

It was the first time she had set foot in the desert.

set foot on/in on:

It was the first time I had set foot on French soil.

- back on your feet

- be unsteady on your feet

- feet first

- get your feet wet

- have feet of clay

- have a foot in both camps

- have one foot in the grave

- my foot

- not put a foot wrong

- on foot

- on the back foot

- on your feet

- put your best foot forward

- put your feet up

- put your foot down

- put your foot in it

- six feet under

- under someone's feet

See:

door, find I

II UK [fʊt] / US verb
Word forms "foot":
present tense I/you/we/they foot he/she/it foots present participle footing past tense footed past participle footed

foot the bill (for something) — informal to pay for something that is expensive or that someone else should be paying for

Many fear the taxpayer could end up footing a massive bill.