Etimology
From Middle English fot, fote, foot, from Old English fōt, from Proto-West Germanic *fōt, from Proto-Germanic *fōts, from Proto-Indo-European *pṓds. Doublet of pes, pie (“Spanish unit of length”), and pous.
noun
foot (plural feet or (UK colloquial, unit of measure) foot)
A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg.
(anatomy) Specifically, a human foot, which is found below the ankle and is used for standing and walking.
(often used attributively) Travel by walking.
The base or bottom of anything.
The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest.
The end of a rectangular table opposite the head.
A short foot-like projection on the bottom of an object to support it.
A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres.
(music) A unit of measure for organ pipes equal to the wavelength of two octaves above middle C, approximately 328 mm.
(collective, military) Foot soldiers; infantry.
(cigars) The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting.
(sewing) The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward.
(printing) The bottommost part of a typed or printed page.
(printing) The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove.
(prosody) The basic measure of rhythm in a poem.
(phonology) The parsing of syllables into prosodic constituents, which are used to determine the placement of stress in languages along with the notions of constituent heads.
(nautical) The bottom edge of a sail.
(billiards) The end of a billiard or pool table behind the foot point where the balls are racked.
(botany) In a bryophyte, that portion of a sporophyte which remains embedded within and attached to the parent gametophyte plant.
(malacology) The muscular part of a bivalve mollusc or a gastropod by which it moves or holds its position on a surface.
(molecular biology) The globular lower domain of a protein.
(geometry) The point of intersection of one line with another that is perpendicular to it.
Fundamental principle; basis; plan.
Recognized condition; rank; footing.
Examples
A spider has eight feet.
Southern Italy is shaped like a foot.
And when I ſawe him, I fell at his feete as dead : and hee laid his right hand vpon me, ſaying vnto mee, Feare not, *I am the firſt,and the laſt.
We went there by foot because we could not afford a taxi.
There is a lot of foot traffic on this street.
I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs.
We came and stood at the foot of the bed.
The host should sit at the foot of the table.
The feet of the stove hold it a safe distance above the floor.
No. I only opened the door a foot and put my head in. The street lamps shine into that room. I could see him. He was all right. Sleeping like a great grampus. Poor, poor chap.
The flag pole at the local high school is about 20 feet high.
King John went to battle with ten thousand foot and one thousand horse.
His forces, after all the high discourses, amounted really but to eighteen hundred foot.
To make the mainsail fuller in shape, the outhaul is eased to reduce the tension on the foot of the sail.
sporophyte with foot reduced, the entire sporophyte enveloped by the calyptra, which is ± stipitate at the base.
To conſider the vvhole of the Subject, to read and think on all ſides, to object plainly, and anſvver directly, upon the foot of dry Reaſon and Argument, vvou'd be a very tedious and troubleſome Affair.
As to his being on the foot of a servant.
Related words
synonyms
pes
coordinate terms
(unit of length): inch, yard, mile
(end of a table): head, sides
(bottom of a page): head, body
(bottom edge of a sail): head, leech, luff
(molecular domain): head, cleft, neck
(infantry): horse
verb
foot (third-person singular simple present foots, present participle footing, simple past and past participle footed)
(transitive) To use the foot to kick (usually a ball).
(transitive) To pay (a bill).
To tread to measure of music; to dance; to trip; to skip.
To walk.
(now rare) To set foot on; to walk on.
(obsolete) To set on foot; to establish; to land.
To renew the foot of (a stocking, etc.).
To sum up, as the numbers in a column; sometimes with up.
Examples
There's time enough, I hope, To foot a measure with the bonnie bride,
He saw a Quire of Ladies in a round, That featly footing seem'd to skim the Ground
thieves do foot by night
[…] Or shepherd-boy, they featly foot the green
People who would not have dared to foot the place before crept in and did not come to the house.
What confederacy have you with the traitors / Late footed in the kingdom?
I'll sew nether stocks and mend them and foot them too
to foot an account