underfoot
/ʌndəˈfʊt
/adverb
1Under one’s feet; on the ground: it was very muddy underfoot figurative genuine rights were being trodden underfoot...
- It's usually really cold, the ground underfoot gets muddy and the badly controlled crowd management means that it takes ages to leave.
- The grass was dying as well; the sickly yellowish leaves crumbled as they were trodden underfoot.
- With the ground underfoot very wet, players were slipping all over the park and passing moves were continually let down by poor handling.
1.1Constantly present and in one’s way: the last thing my mother wanted was a child underfoot...
- In fact, he was constantly underfoot on the court.
- He stuck one step behind me and was constantly underfoot as I turned to pick something up or put it down.
adjective [attributive]
Relating to the state of the ground, especially in a horse race: the underfoot conditions were good...
- The snow on the tops made for treacherous underfoot conditions and the race organisers decided to turn the runners before they reached the 2,100 ft summit because of hidden rocks.
- ‘His turn of foot has been nullified by the pace of the race and the underfoot conditions,’ the trainer said.
- On a day when the underfoot conditions tested the courage of horses all over the country, one performance at Sandown shone out for the sheer bravery of the horse concerned.
