foot Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
    human foot; pes.
    • his bare feet projected from his trousers
    • armored from head to foot
  2. noun a linear unit of length equal to 12 inches or a third of a yard
    ft.
    • he is six feet tall
  3. noun the lower part of anything
    • curled up on the foot of the bed
    • the foot of the page
    • the foot of the list
    • the foot of the mountain
  4. noun the pedal extremity of vertebrates other than human beings
    animal foot.
  5. noun lowest support of a structure
    foundation; substructure; groundwork; understructure; base; fundament.
    • it was built on a base of solid rock
    • he stood at the foot of the tower
  6. noun any of various organs of locomotion or attachment in invertebrates
    invertebrate foot.
  7. noun travel by walking
    • he followed on foot
    • the swiftest of foot
  8. noun a member of a surveillance team who works on foot or rides as a passenger
  9. noun an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot
    infantry.
    • there came ten thousand horsemen and as many fully-armed foot
  10. noun (prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm
    metrical unit; metrical foot.
  11. noun a support resembling a pedal extremity
    • one foot of the chair was on the carpet
  12. verb pay for something
    pick.
    • pick up the tab
    • pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages
    • foot the bill
  13. verb walk
    leg it; hoof; hoof it.
    • let's hoof it to the disco
  14. verb add a column of numbers
    foot up.

WordNet

Foot noun
Etymology
OE. fot, foot, pl. feet. AS. ft, pl. ft; akin to D. voet, OHG. fuoz, G. fuss, Icel. fir, Sw. fot, Dan. fod, Goth. ftus, L. pes, Gr. , Skr. pad, Icel. fet step, pace measure of a foot, feta to step, find one's way. *77, 250. Cf. Antipodes, Cap-a-pie, Expedient, Fet to fetch, Fetlock, Fetter, Pawn a piece in chess, Pedal.
Wordforms
plural Feet
Definitions
  1. (Anat.) The terminal part of the leg of man or an animal; esp., the part below the ankle or wrist; that part of an animal upon which it rests when standing, or moves. See Manus, and Pes.
  2. (Zoöl.) The muscular locomotive organ of a mollusk. It is a median organ arising from the ventral region of body, often in the form of a flat disk, as in snails. See Illust. of Buccinum.
  3. That which corresponds to the foot of a man or animal; as, the foot of a table; the foot of a stocking.
  4. The lowest part or base; the ground part; the bottom, as of a mountain or column; also, the last of a row or series; the end or extremity, esp. if associated with inferiority; as, the foot of a hill; the foot of the procession; the foot of a class; the foot of the bed.
    And now at foot Of heaven's ascent they lift their feet. Milton.
  5. Fundamental principle; basis; plan; -- used only in the singular.
    Answer directly upon the foot of dry reason. Berkeley.
  6. Recognized condition; rank; footing; -- used only in the singular. R.
    As to his being on the foot of a servant. Walpole.
  7. A measure of length equivalent to twelve inches; one third of a yard. See Yard. ✍ This measure is supposed to be taken from the length of a man's foot. It differs in length in different countries. In the United States and in England it is 304.8 millimeters.
  8. (Mil.) Soldiers who march and fight on foot; the infantry, usually designated as the foot, in distinction from the cavalry. "Both horse and foot." Milton.
  9. (Pros.) A combination of syllables consisting a metrical element of a verse, the syllables being formerly distinguished by their quantity or length, but in modern poetry by the accent.
  10. (Naut.) The lower edge of a sail. ✍ Foot is often used adjectively, signifying of or pertaining to a foot or the feet, or to the base or lower part. It is also much used as the first of compounds.
Foot intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Footed; present participle & verbal noun Footing
Definitions
  1. To tread to measure or music; to dance; to trip; to skip. Dryden.
  2. To walk; -- opposed to ride or fly. Shak.
Foot transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To kick with the foot; to spurn. Shak.
  2. To set on foot; to establish; to land. Obs.
    What confederacy have you with the traitors Late footed in the kingdom? Shak.
  3. To tread; as, to foot the green. Tickell.
  4. To sum up, as the numbers in a column; -- sometimes with up; as, to foot (or foot up) an account.
  5. The size or strike with the talon. Poet. Shak.
  6. To renew the foot of, as of stocking. Shak.

Webster 1913