foot

noun

1. 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.

   “A spider has eight feet.”

2. Specifically, a human foot, which is found below the ankle and is used for standing and walking.

   “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.”

3. (attributive, often)Travel by walking.

   “We went there by foot because we could not afford a taxi.”

   “There is a lot of foot traffic on this street.”

4. The base or bottom of anything.

   “I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs.”

5. The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest.

   “We came and stood at the foot of the bed.”

6. The end of a rectangular table opposite the head.

   “The host should sit at the foot of the table.”

7. A short foot-like projection on the bottom of an object to support it.

   “The feet of the stove hold it a safe distance above the floor.”

8. A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres.

   “The flag pole, which is 20 feet high, was hoisted by a six-foot tall man.”

   “My sis's just over six foot two.”

   “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.”

   “No trees have grown on the windswept Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean for tens of thousands of years — just shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. That’s why a recent arboreal discovery nearly 20 feet (6 meters) beneath the ground caught researchers’ attention.”

9. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal)A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres.
10. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal)A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres.
11. A unit of measure for organ pipes equal to the wavelength of two octaves above middle C, approximately 328 mm.
12. (collective)Foot soldiers; infantry.

    “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.”

13. The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting.

    “He removes a gold lighter from his pocket, flips it open, and waves the flame over the foot, taking short, sucking pulls off the head till it’s lit.”

14. The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward.
15. The bottommost part of a typed or printed page.
16. The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove.
17. The basic measure of rhythm in a poem.
18. 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.
19. The bottom edge of a sail.

    “To make the mainsail fuller in shape, the outhaul is eased to reduce the tension on the foot of the sail.”

20. The end of a billiard or pool table behind the foot point where the balls are racked.
21. In a bryophyte, that portion of a sporophyte which remains embedded within and attached to the parent gametophyte plant.

    “(b) sporophyte with foot reduced, the entire sporophyte enveloped by the calyptra, which is ± stipitate at the base.”

22. The muscular part of a bivalve mollusc or a gastropod by which it moves or holds its position on a surface.
23. The globular lower domain of a protein.
24. The point of intersection of one line with another that is perpendicular to it.
25. Fundamental principle; basis; plan.

    “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.”

26. Recognized condition; rank; footing.

    “May 20, 1742, Horace Walpole, letter to Horace Mann As to his being on the foot of a servant.”

verb

1. (transitive)To use the foot to kick (usually a ball).
2. (transitive)To pay (a bill).
3. To tread to measure of music; to dance; to trip; to skip.

   “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”

4. To walk.

   “thieves do foot by night”

5. (archaic)To set foot on; to walk on.

   “[…] 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.”

6. (obsolete)To set on foot; to establish; to land.

   “What confederacy have you with the traitors / Late footed in the kingdom?”

7. To renew the foot of (a stocking, etc.).

   “I'll sew nether stocks and mend them and foot them too”

8. To sum up, as the numbers in a column; sometimes with up.

   “to foot (or foot up) an account”

9. (Ireland, transitive)To spread out and stack up (turf sods) to allow them to dry.

name

1. A surname.

   “Michael Foot (1913–2010) was a British politician.”