put one's best foot forward see under foot

six of the best see under six

to the best of one's knowledge or belief or ability

As far as one knows, believes or is able

with the best (of them)

As successfully as anyone

foot /fŭt/

noun (pl feet; also, as a measure, foot; in some compounds and in sense of dregs, or footlights, foots)

1. The part of its body on which a human or animal stands or walks
2. The part on which anything stands
3. The base
4. The lower or less dignified end
5. A measure equal to 12 inches (0.3048m), orig the length of a man's foot
6. The corresponding square or cubic unit (square foot = 144 square inches/0.0929 square metres; cubic foot = 1728 cubic inches/0.0086 cubic metres)
7. Foot soldiers
8. A division of a line of poetry
9. A manner of walking
10. A part of a sewing machine that holds the fabric in place under the needle
11. A muscular development of the ventral surface in molluscs
12. The absorbent and attaching organ of a young sporophyte (botany)

transitive verb and intransitive verb (footˈing; footˈed)

1. (esp with it) to dance (obsolete)
2. To walk
3. To sum up

transitive verb

1. To kick
2. To pay (the bill) (informal)
3. To add a foot to
4. To grasp with the foot

footˈage noun

1. Measurement or payment by the foot
2. The length of organ pipe giving the lowest note
3. An amount (ie length) of cinema or TV film

footˈed adjective

1. Provided with a foot or feet
2. Having gained a football (Shakespeare)

combining form

1. Having a specified number of feet
2. Having a specified manner of walking

foot'edness noun

The tendency to use one foot rather than the other

-footedness combining form

footˈer noun

1. A line of type or any information (eg a page number) printed at the foot of a page (printing; computing)
2. Football (informal)

combining form

Something of a specified length in feet, usu a boat (eg he sails a twenty-four-footer)

footˈie or footˈy noun

1. Football (informal)
2. Footsie (see play footsie below)

footˈing noun

1. A place for the foot to rest on, esp a secure and stable one
2. Standing
3. Terms
4. A place of installation
5. A fee charged on the installation of a person to a new position (archaic)
6. A foundation or basis
7. The lower part of a column or wall, immediately above the foundation
8. Position or rank
9. A track or surface
10. A tread
11. A dance
12. Plain cotton lace

footˈless adjective

1. Having no feet
2. Very drunk (informal)

foot-and-mouth disease noun

A contagious disease of cloven-footed animals, characterized by vesicular eruption, esp in the mouth and in the clefts of the feet

footˈball noun

1. A large ball for kicking about in sport
2. A game played with this ball, esp soccer (see association football under associate)
3. A bargaining-point, point of controversy, etc that is tossed around (esp a political football; figurative)

footˈballene noun (chem)

Buckminsterfullerene

footˈballer or (rare) footˈballist noun

A football player

footˈballing adjective

Of or relating to football

footˈbar noun

The bar, controlled by the pilot's feet, for operating the rudder in aircraft

footˈbath noun

1. An act of bathing the feet
2. A bowl, etc for this purpose

footˈboard noun

1. A support for the feet in a carriage or elsewhere
2. The footplate of a locomotive engine
3. An upright board at the foot of a bed

footˈboy noun

A young boy attendant in livery

footˈbrake noun

A brake operated by the foot

footˈbreadth noun

The breadth of a foot

footˈbridge noun

A bridge for pedestrians

footˈ-candle noun

A former unit of incident light, equivalent to one lumen per sq foot (= 10.764 lux)

footˈcloth noun

A packhorse cloth reaching to the feet of the horse

footˈ-dragging see drag one's feet under drag

footˈfall noun

1. The sound of a footstep
2. The number of customers who enter a shop or shopping centre (commerce)

foot fault noun (tennis)

A fault made by stepping over the baseline when serving

footˈfault transitive verb and intransitive verb

footˈgear see footwear below.

footˈguards plural noun (military)

Guards that serve on foot

footˈhill noun

A minor elevation below a higher mountain or range (usu in pl)

footˈhold noun

1. A place to fix the foot in, eg when climbing
2. A grip
3. A firm starting position

foot-in-the-mouthˈ adjective

Of or relating to a verbal faux pas

footˈ-jaw noun (zoology)

A maxilliped

foot-lamˈbert noun

A former unit of emitted or reflected light, equivalent to one lumen per sq foot (= 10.764 lux)

foot-landˈ-raker noun (Shakespeare)

A footpad

footˈ-licker noun

A fawning, slavish flatterer

footˈlight noun

1. One of a row of lights along the front of a theatre stage
2. (in pl) the theatre as a profession

footˈloose adjective

1. Free or unhampered by (eg family) ties
2. (of an industry) not dependent on factors of production found only in a certain location

footˈman noun (pl footˈmen)

1. A person who goes on foot
2. A servant or attendant in livery
3. A foot soldier
4. A servant running before a coach or rider
5. A low stand for fireside utensils

footˈmark see footprint below.

footˈmuff noun

A muff for keeping the feet warm

footˈnote noun

1. A note of reference or comment at the foot of a page
2. Something relatively unimportant

footˈpace noun (obsolete)

1. A walking pace
2. A dais

footˈpad noun (archaic)

A highwayman on foot

footˈpage noun

A boy attendant

foot passenger noun

One who travels on foot

footˈpath noun

1. A way for walkers only
2. A side pavement

footˈ-patrol noun

A patrol on foot

footˈplate noun

A platform for footˈplatemen or footˈplatewomen (sing footˈplateman or footˈplatewoman), train driver and assistant (on a steam locomotive, the stoker)

footˈpost noun

A post or other messenger that travels on foot

footˈ-pound or foot-pound force noun

The energy needed to raise a mass of one pound through the height of one foot in normal gravity

foot-pound-secˈond adjective

Applied to a system of scientific measurement with the foot, pound and second as units of length, mass and time

footˈprint noun

1. The mark left on the ground or floor by a person's or animal's foot (also footˈmark)
2. The area over which any object is effective (figurative)
3. Extent of influence (figurative)

footˈpump noun

A pump held or operated by the foot

footˈ-race noun

A race on foot

footˈ-racing noun

footˈrest noun

A support for the foot

footˈ-rope noun

1. A rope stretching along under a ship's yard for the crew to stand on when furling the sails
2. The rope to which the lower edge of a sail is attached

foot rot noun

Ulceration of the coronary band, or any other infection of the feet in sheep or cattle

footˈrule noun

A rule or measure a foot in length or measured off in feet

footˈslog intransitive verb

To march or tramp

footˈslogger noun

footˈslogging noun

foot soldier noun

A soldier serving on foot

footˈsore adjective

Having sore or tender feet, usu from much walking

footˈstalk noun (botany)

The stalk or petiole of a leaf

footˈ-stall noun

A side-saddle stirrup

footˈstep noun

1. A tread
2. A footfall
3. A footprint
4. A raised step for ascending or descending
5. (in pl; figurative) a path or example

footˈstool noun

A stool for placing one's feet on when sitting

footˈstooled adjective

footˈ-tapping adjective

(of music) that makes one tap, or want to tap, one's feet in time with it

footˈ-ton or foot-ton force noun

A unit of work or energy equal to the work done in raising one ton one foot against normal gravity, 2240 foot-pounds

footˈwall noun

The layer of rock immediately underlying a vein of ore, mineral deposit or fault

footˈ-warmer noun

A device for keeping the feet warm

footˈway noun

1. A path for people on foot
2. A mineshaft with ladders

footˈwear or foot'gear noun

A collective term for boots, shoes, socks, etc

footˈwell noun

Either of the recessed hollows for the feet in front of the front seats of a vehicle

footˈwork noun

1. The use or management of the feet, as in sport
2. Skilful manoeuvring (figurative)

footˈworn adjective

1. Footsore
2. Showing signs of much wear by feet

a foot in the door

A first step towards a usu difficult desired end

at the feet of

In submission, homage, supplication or devotion to or under the spell of

catch on the wrong foot

To catch (someone) unprepared

cover the feet (Bible)

To defecate

drag one's feet see under drag

foot of fine (law; historical)

The bottom part (preserved in the records) of a tripartite indenture in case of a fine of land

foot the bill (informal)

To pay a bill in full

get off on the wrong foot

To make a bad beginning

have one foot in the grave (informal)

To be not far from death

have one's feet on the ground

To act habitually with practical good sense

have the ball at one's feet

To have nothing to do except seize one's opportunity

my foot! (informal)

An interjection expressing disbelief, usu contemptuous

on foot

1. Walking or running
2. In progress

on the back foot (informal)

In a defensive position; at a disadvantage

play footsie (with) (informal)

1. To rub one's foot or leg against (another person's), usu with amorous intentions
2. To make furtively flirtatious advances towards (figurative)
3. To collaborate secretly (figurative)

put a (or one's) foot wrong

(usu in neg) to make a mistake or blunder

put one's best foot forward

To make one's best effort

put one's feet up (informal)

To take a rest

put one's foot down (informal)

To take a firm decision, usu against something

put one's foot in it (informal)

To spoil anything by some tactless blunder or remark

set foot in

To enter

set on foot (archaic)

To originate, start

shoot oneself in the foot see under shoot¹