Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - foot

(feet) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. Your feet are the parts of your body that are at the ends of your legs, and that you stand on. She stamped her foot again. ...a foot injury. ...his aching arms and sore feet. N-COUNT • -footed She was bare-footed. ...pink-footed geese. COMB in ADJ 2. The foot of something is the part that is farthest from its top. David called to the children from the foot of the stairs... A single word at the foot of a page caught her eye. = bottom ? head, top N-SING: usu the N of n 3. The foot of a bed is the end nearest to the feet of the person lying in it. Friends stood at the foot of the bed, looking at her with serious faces. ? head N-SING: usu the N of n 4. A foot is a unit for measuring length, height, or depth, and is equal to 12 inches or 30.48 centimetres. When you are giving measurements, the form ‘foot’ is often used as the plural instead of the plural form ‘feet’. This beautiful and curiously shaped lake lies at around fifteen thousand feet... He occupies a cell 10 foot long, 6 foot wide and 10 foot high... I have to give my height in feet and inches. N-COUNT: usu num N, oft num N adj 5. A foot brake or foot pump is operated by your foot rather than by your hand. I tried to reach the foot brakes but I couldn’t. ADJ: ADJ n 6. A foot patrol or foot soldiers walk rather than travelling in vehicles or on horseback. Paratroopers and foot-soldiers entered the building on the government’s behalf. ADJ: ADJ n 7. see also footing 8. If you get cold feet about something, you become nervous or frightened about it because you think it will fail. The Government is getting cold feet about the reforms. PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR about n 9. If you say that someone is finding their feet in a new situation, you mean that they are starting to feel confident and to deal with things successfully. I don’t know anyone in England but I am sure I will manage when I find my feet... PHRASE: V inflects 10. If you say that someone has their feet on the ground, you approve of the fact that they have a sensible and practical attitude towards life, and do not have unrealistic ideas. In that respect he needs to keep his feet on the ground and not get carried away... Kevin was always level-headed with both feet on the ground. PHRASE: usu v PHR c darkgreen]approval 11. If you go somewhere on foot, you walk, rather than using any form of transport. We rowed ashore, then explored the island on foot for the rest of the day. PHRASE 12. If you are on your feet, you are standing up. Everyone was on their feet applauding wildly. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR 13. If you say that someone or something is on their feet again after an illness or difficult period, you mean that they have recovered and are back to normal. He said they all needed to work together to put the country on its feet again. PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v 14. If you say that someone always falls or lands on their feet, you mean that they are always successful or lucky, although they do not seem to achieve this by their own efforts. He has good looks and charm, and always falls on his feet... PHRASE: V inflects 15. If you say that someone has one foot in the grave, you mean that they are very old or very ill and will probably die soon. (INFORMAL) PHRASE: V inflects 16. If you say, in British English, the boot is on the other foot or, mainly in American English, the shoe is on the other foot, you mean that a situation has been reversed completely, so that the person who was in the better position before is now in the worse one. You’re not in a position to remove me. The boot is now on the other foot. PHRASE: V inflects 17. If someone puts their foot down, they use their authority in order to stop something happening. He had planned to go skiing on his own in March but his wife had decided to put her foot down. PHRASE: V inflects 18. If someone puts their foot down when they are driving, they drive as fast as they can. I asked the driver to put his foot down for Nagchukha. PHRASE: V inflects 19. If someone puts their foot in it or puts their foot in their mouth, they accidentally do or say something which embarrasses or offends people. (INFORMAL) Our chairman has really put his foot in it, poor man, though he doesn’t know it. PHRASE: V inflects 20. If you put your feet up, you relax or have a rest, especially by sitting or lying with your feet supported off the ground. After supper he’d put his feet up and read. It was a pleasant prospect. = rest PHRASE: V inflects 21. If you never put a foot wrong, you never make any mistakes. When he’s around, we never put a foot wrong... PHRASE: V inflects, with brd-neg 22. If you say that someone sets foot in a place, you mean that they enter it or reach it, and you are emphasizing the significance of their action. If you say that someone never sets foot in a place, you are emphasizing that they never go there. ...the day the first man set foot on the moon... A little later I left that place and never set foot in Texas again. PHRASE: V inflects, oft with brd-neg c darkgreen]emphasis 23. If someone has to stand on their own two feet, they have to be independent and manage their lives without help from other people. My father didn’t mind whom I married, so long as I could stand on my own two feet and wasn’t dependent on my husband. PHRASE: V inflects 24. If you get or rise to your feet, you stand up. Malone got to his feet and followed his superior out of the suite... He sprang to his feet and ran outside. PHRASE: v PHR 25. If someone gets off on the wrong foot in a new situation, they make a bad start by doing something in completely the wrong way. Even though they called the election and had been preparing for it for some time, they got off on the wrong foot. PHRASE: V inflects 26. to foot the bill: see bill foot in the door: see door drag your feet: see drag to vote with your feet: see vote