foot
/fʊt/ (bre, ipa) · /fʊt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfu̇t/ (ame, mw)
foot — noun
- footsingular
- feetplural
1. the part at the lowest end of each leg that people and animals use to stand and
the part at the lowest end of each leg that people and animals use to stand and walk on
The baby's tiny feet felt cold, so Heather put warm socks on her.
irregular plural: feet
Yan twisted his right foot while playing football in the park.
A dog's foot leaves a clear shape in wet mud after rain.
Christopher sat on the bench and gently rubbed his tired feet.
The shoes were far too tight, so Layla's feet began to hurt.
- head
the top part of the body, opposite in position to the feet
文法句型
foot (singular) → feet (plural)
用法筆記
The plural is 'feet' — this is an irregular plural and does NOT take -s. When using adjectives before the word, use 'foot' for the singular ('a sore foot') and 'feet' for the plural ('sore feet').
常見錯誤
2. used in phrases like 'get to your feet' or 'rise to your feet' to describe the a
used in phrases like 'get to your feet' or 'rise to your feet' to describe the action of standing up from a sitting or lying position
When the judge walked into the courtroom, everyone rose to their feet.
phrase: rise to one's feet
After the winning goal, the fans jumped to their feet and roared.
phrase: jump to one's feet
The old man struggled to get to his feet without help from anyone.
Baraka came to his feet slowly, brushing the dust off his trousers.
文法句型
[verb] + to + possessive + feet
get to one's feet
rise to one's feet
jump to one's feet
用法筆記
Only used in fixed phrases with possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, their) after 'to'. The subject is usually a person or group of people. 'Feet' is always plural in these expressions, even for a single person.
常見錯誤
3. a fixed phrase meaning 'by walking rather than by vehicle', used when describing
a fixed phrase meaning 'by walking rather than by vehicle', used when describing how someone travels somewhere
The old village is only reachable on foot through the forest.
fixed phrase: on foot
Sari prefers to explore new cities on foot rather than by bus.
It takes about twenty minutes on foot from the hotel to the beach.
Layla's car broke down, so she had to continue the journey on foot.
- walking
a more direct term that can be used in any grammatical position
文法句型
on foot
用法筆記
Always used in the fixed phrase 'on foot' — no article before 'foot'. 'By foot' is sometimes heard informally but is not considered standard in careful writing. 'On foot' is used regardless of whether the subject is one person or many.
常見錯誤
4. a standard way of measuring length used mainly in the US and UK, with one foot b
a standard way of measuring length used mainly in the US and UK, with one foot being twelve inches or roughly thirty centimetres
The swimming pool is twelve feet deep at the far end.
pattern: [number] + feet + [adjective]
Hugo is six foot tall, which is quite tall for his age.
pattern: [number] + foot + tall (informal)
Élise bought a six-foot-long shelf for her bedroom wall.
The room measures fifteen feet by twelve feet in size.
文法句型
[number] + foot/feet + [adjective of length]
[number]-foot + [noun]
用法筆記
The plural form can be either 'feet' ('three feet long') or, in informal usage especially when used as an adjective, 'foot' ('a three-foot-long table'). The symbol for foot is a single prime mark (′), as in 6′ (six feet).
常見錯誤
5. the lowest part or end of something, such as a mountain, a set of stairs, a bed,
the lowest part or end of something, such as a mountain, a set of stairs, a bed, or a page
The cat always sleeps at the foot of the bed, near the blankets.
pattern: at the foot of [object]
Two hikers built a small wooden cabin at the foot of the mountain.
Aarav left his muddy boots at the foot of the stairs before going up.
The page number appears at the foot of each page in the book.
文法句型
the foot of [something]
at the foot of [something]
用法筆記
Most commonly used in the pattern 'the foot of [something]', where the something is an object with a clear top and bottom (bed, mountain, stairs, page, table). The opposite end is 'the head' (of a bed, of a table).
6. a group of syllables containing one stressed beat together with one or two unstr
a group of syllables containing one stressed beat together with one or two unstressed ones, serving as the basic building block for rhythm in verses
An iambic foot has one weak beat followed by a strong beat.
example type: iambic foot
The teacher asked the class to mark each foot in the poem.
A line with five iambic feet is called a line of iambic pentameter.
The poet used trochaic feet to create a marching rhythm.
- metrical unit
a more general term for the building block of poetic metre
文法句型
[type] + foot
a [adjective] + foot
用法筆記
A technical term used in poetry analysis. The main types of foot in English poetry are: iamb (weak-strong), trochee (strong-weak), anapest (weak-weak-strong), and dactyl (strong-weak-weak). The most common in English verse is the iambic foot.
7. the part of clothing items such as socks or stockings that actually wraps around
the part of clothing items such as socks or stockings that actually wraps around and covers the foot area
The socks had a hole in the foot, so Élise threw them away.
pattern: hole in the foot of a sock
These hiking socks have extra padding in the foot for comfort.
Heather bought stockings with a soft cotton foot and a silk top.
The foot of this sock is too long for small children's shoes.
文法句型
the foot of [garment]
[garment] + foot
用法筆記
Refers specifically to the part of a sock, stocking, or tights that actually covers the foot, as opposed to the leg or ankle part. When socks or stockings get worn out, the foot section is usually the first part to develop holes.
foot — verb
- footpresent simple I / you / we / they
- foots3rd person singular
- footing-ing form
- footedpast simple
1. to pay the total cost of something, especially a meal, event, or service, often
to pay the total cost of something, especially a meal, event, or service, often when it is your responsibility or you are treating others
The company footed the bill for the team's three-day training course.
fixed phrase: foot the bill
Talia's parents offered to foot the bill for her wedding reception.
Who is going to foot the bill for all these expensive repairs?
The government footed the bill for rebuilding the damaged bridge.
文法句型
foot + the bill
foot + the bill + for [something]
用法筆記
Almost always used in the fixed expression 'foot the bill'. The object is almost always 'the bill' — you cannot say 'foot the restaurant' or 'foot the dinner'. 'Foot' in this sense cannot be split from 'the bill' by other words.
常見錯誤
2. to travel somewhere by walking, especially when the walk is long or the journey
to travel somewhere by walking, especially when the walk is long or the journey is done on foot because no vehicle is available
With no bus in sight, the travellers decided to foot it to the next village.
old-fashioned phrase: foot it
Rather than wait for a taxi, Aarav footed it home through the rain.
The soldiers footed along the muddy road for hours without stopping.
After the car broke down, they had no choice but to foot it to town.
文法句型
foot it
foot + [adverbial of direction]
用法筆記
This is an old-fashioned or literary use of 'foot' as a verb. In modern everyday English, 'walk' is used instead. The phrase 'foot it' is the most common form of this sense, meaning to walk rather than use transport.
常見錯誤
3. to add a vertical list of figures together to calculate their sum, especially in
to add a vertical list of figures together to calculate their sum, especially in old-fashioned accounting or bookkeeping
The clerk footed up the day's sales to check the total.
phrase: foot up [numbers]
Hugo footed the column of expenses and wrote the sum at the bottom.
The accountant footed up all the receipts from the month of March.
Before calculators existed, clerks footed up long lists of numbers by hand.
文法句型
foot + up + [column of numbers]
foot up [numbers]
用法筆記
An old-fashioned term from the era of manual bookkeeping. The more common modern equivalent is 'add up' or 'total'. The phrase 'foot up' (with the particle 'up') is the typical form, but 'foot' alone can also be used with 'a column' as the object.