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feet
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
feet
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
100 feet/30 metres etc high
▪ waves up to 40 metres high
▪ a ten-foot high statue
3 feet/1 cm/two inches etc thick
▪ The walls are about two meters thick.
5 metres/3 feet etc in breadth
▪ The boat measured 15 feet in length and 4 feet in breadth.
a height of 2,500 feet/10,000 metres etc
▪ The aircraft was flying at a height of 10,000 metres.
a height of six feet/ten metres etc
▪ Sunflowers can grow to a height of 15 feet.
crow's feet
every few feet/ten yards etc
▪ There were traffic lights every ten yards.
five miles/ten feet etc away
▪ Geneva is about 20 miles away.
flat feet
got to...feet (=stood up)
▪ Peter got to his feet.
grow to/reach a length of 2 metres/8 feet etc
▪ A blue whale can reach a length of 100 feet.
have a length of 1 metre/2 feet etc
▪ These leaves have a length of about 7 cm.
hind legs/feet/quarters/limbs
itchy feet (=the desire to go somewhere new)
▪ I’ve only been back home for a few months and I’ve already got itchy feet .
jumped to...feet
▪ She jumped to her feet and left.
leapt to...feet (=stood up quickly)
▪ She leapt to her feet and started shouting.
quick on...feet (=able to move about quickly)
▪ Boxers have to be quick on their feet.
rushed off...feet (=extremely busy)
▪ I’ve been rushed off my feet all day.
scrambled to...feet (=stood up very quickly and awkwardly)
▪ Micky scrambled to his feet and hurried into the kitchen.
several inches/feet of snow
▪ More than eight inches of snow fell in 48 hours.
shaky on...feet (=not able to walk very well)
▪ Grandad was a little shaky on his feet.
six feet/ten metres etc in height
▪ None of these sculptures was less than three metres in height.
soles of...feet
▪ The soles of his feet were caked in mud.
sprang to his feet (=stood up suddenly)
▪ He sprang to his feet and rushed after her.
stamping...feet (=because she was cold)
▪ She stood at the bus stop stamping her feet.
ten feet/five metres etc across
▪ The river is 2 kilometres across.
three feet/two metres etc in width
▪ It’s about six metres in width.
tie sb’s hands/arms/legs/feet
▪ One of them tied her hands behind her back.
two miles/six feet etc apart
▪ Place the two posts 6 metres apart.
unsteady on her feet (=she might fall over)
▪ She was quite unsteady on her feet.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
as little as £5/3 months/10 feet etc
be light on your feet
be rushed/run off your feet
▪ All the sales assistants are run off their feet. The shop ought to take on more staff.
▪ It's my son's birthday party tomorrow. I've been absolutely rushed off my feet getting ready for it.
▪ Bus managers were expecting to be rushed off their feet.
▪ He was in livery, and told me he was rushed off his feet.
▪ Obviously, the emergency services are run off their feet.
▪ There had been lots of problems, and they were rushed off their feet.
▪ We were rushed off our feet yesterday.
be/get back on your feet
▪ But we are reliably informed that Angus will be back on his feet and more importantly that seat tomorrow.
▪ He got back on his feet, and they all made another parade around the stage.
▪ In those early years, Macey helped Dole literally get back on his feet.
▪ It was an inexpensive, safe, stable environment for families while they got back on their feet.
▪ Never got back on her feet again, really.
▪ The Mirror Group would soon be back on its feet.
▪ We can get back on our feet.
be/get under your feet
▪ The kids have been under my feet all day long.
▪ That way you will not be under her feet.
cut the ground from under sb's feet
drag your feet/heels
▪ And don't drag your feet.
▪ Elsewhere they dragged their feet until it became clear that the laws were unenforceable.
▪ Mr de Klerk's people say the Congress is dragging its feet because it is too disorganised to talk.
▪ On the other hand, the agency has been dragging its feet all the way in making the endangered determination.
▪ On this occasion, their leaders have dragged their heels at every stage, without giving any of the ideas a chance.
▪ The council was informed about the anniversary two years ago but has dragged its heels over putting it on any agenda.
▪ They thus exhibit a strong tendency to drag their feet as doomsday draws nearer.
▪ Was it because he feared the Republicans were going to hammer him in the 1996 election for dragging his feet on enlargement?
fall/land on your feet
▪ After some ups and downs, young Mr Davison has landed on his feet.
▪ Even in an industry that shrinks faster than microwave bacon, the good people landed on their feet.
▪ Forgive the cliché, but for once I have fallen on my feet.
▪ He pushed the floor, and flipped over in the air, landing on his feet.
▪ However he landed on his feet.
▪ Jonathon is a trained musician filling in as a cleaner between jobs and he fell on his feet at the Oxford Playhouse.
▪ This is a company that tends to land on its feet.
feet of clay
▪ After all, audiences want to be entertained, not see their idols with feet of clay.
▪ Another hero with foot and mouth disease, feet of clay and a mouth less than squeaky clean.
▪ Jay swept away what she had learned in pain about feet of clay and natural caution.
▪ Still, she thought ruefully, most heroes would have feet of clay if studied closely.
▪ The discovery of his idol's feet of clay proves intolerable to the lonely, emotionally stunted fan.
▪ Was it, perhaps, in the 1960s that the notion became clear that no idol can exist without feet of clay?
find your feet
▪ I asked Susie if I could stay with her till I found my feet.
▪ Susie said I could stay at her place for a while, just until I found my feet.
▪ This organization's role is to help refugees find their feet when they arrive in the host country.
▪ But Cambridge found their feet and took an audacious lead.
▪ If this means raising their chair, workers may find their feet are dangling.
▪ It yielded after causing only moderate cranial discomfort, but as it did I found my feet caught up in something.
▪ Lord Airlie also went out of his way to help me find my feet.
▪ New democracies have been born, struggling against appalling odds to find their feet, with hyper-inflation and national rivalries.
▪ New teachers in their first year or so are still very much in the process of finding their feet.
▪ We have to help them find their feet.
five feet/two metres etc square
get/have cold feet
▪ They later got cold feet and canceled the order.
▪ But the prince got cold feet and failed to turn up.
▪ He and his neighbors bought a fire truck to protect their area, but the neighbors got cold feet.
▪ He gets cold feet and phones his bank manager asking him to stop the cheque.
▪ I began to get cold feet, but these other two guys were totally positive and they were absolutely right.
▪ Juicy, tender and sinfully rich, I immodestly enjoyed every one when my companion got cold feet.
▪ Some are said to be getting cold feet.
▪ Unfortunately he, the lover, had got cold feet at the last minute.
▪ We are all tired, and have cold feet and hands.
get/jump/rise etc to your feet
▪ Antony rose to his feet and stood gazing intensely at her.
▪ He got to his feet, did a 365-degree scan, and moved on.
▪ Kay McGovern rose to his feet, cheering appreciatively when the performance ended.
▪ The three men turned, facing it, Kao Chen getting to his feet.
▪ They got to their feet and consulted; then they disappeared.
▪ Zeinab rose to her feet and swept out of the box.
have sb/sth at your feet
▪ I have lain at his feet.
have the world at your feet
have two left feet
have two left feet
have/keep both feet on the ground
▪ She's really creative, but she also has her feet firmly on the ground.
▪ So I guess inversely he taught me the need to be prepared and keep both feet on the ground.
in your stockinged/stocking feet
▪ It would be too bad if the Panzers overran our positions and we were found to be in our stocking feet.
knock/lift etc sb off their feet
land on your feet
▪ Capra lost his job, but landed on his feet when Columbia Pictures hired him.
▪ After some ups and downs, young Mr Davison has landed on his feet.
▪ Even in an industry that shrinks faster than microwave bacon, the good people landed on their feet.
▪ He pushed the floor, and flipped over in the air, landing on his feet.
▪ However he landed on his feet.
▪ This is a company that tends to land on its feet.
leave feet first
not let the grass grow under your feet
off your feet
▪ It was a relief to get off my feet for a while.
▪ The doctor told me to stay off my feet for a few days.
▪ But the stories never swept the reading public off its feet the way the Sherlock Holmes tales did.
▪ He kind of swept me off my feet.
▪ He was in livery, and told me he was rushed off his feet.
▪ The boys aim only to get one over on the girls while the girls dream of being romantically swept off their feet.
▪ They have not, therefore, been swept off their feet.
▪ They placed a lavatory chain around his neck and hoisted him off his feet.
▪ We were rushed off our feet yesterday.
on your feet
▪ She'd been on her feet all morning without once sitting down.
▪ You go. I've been on my feet all day, and I need a rest.
▪ A correspondent from the New York Times was on his feet.
▪ A socialist youth was on his feet, roaring with all the force and outrage of his years.
▪ Daley was on his feet, his arms waving, his mouth working.
▪ He was on his feet, gathering up books from his desk.
▪ He was on his feet, holding out his hand to Nick who went to him and took it trustingly.
▪ I was on my feet in the darkness, dressing quietly.
▪ The crowd was on its feet.
▪ The ones she had just knocked down were on their feet again, hopping on the steps around her.
pick your feet up
▪ Ronnie, stop shuffling and pick your feet up.
pull the rug (out) from under sb/sb's feet
pull yourself up/to your feet etc
▪ Behind Duvall, Jimmy could see that Barbara was pulling herself to her feet.
▪ Granny pulled herself to her feet and tottered over to the bench, where Hodgesaargh had left his jar of flame.
▪ On March 4 she caught hold of the end of her buggy and twice pulled herself to her feet.
▪ Weary now that the excitement of the film was no longer sweeping her along, she pulled herself to her feet.
▪ Whitlock pulled himself to his feet and winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg.
put your feet up
▪ Well, at least put your feet up for a few minutes. Would you like a drink?
▪ When you're pregnant and doing a full-time job, you must find time to put your feet up.
▪ E for elevation, otherwise known as putting your feet up.
▪ He pushed the ottoman over and I put my feet up.
▪ He says it gave him time to put his feet up and relax.
▪ Take off your coat and put your feet up.
▪ Tammuz had dimmed the lights, put his feet up, and asked the computer to tune in the wall-screen.
▪ That boy needs a lot of teaching, he thought, putting his feet up.
▪ Then he put his feet up on the bench and snored for ten minutes.
rest your feet/legs/eyes etc
▪ Fit in periods away from people, giving yourself the opportunity to renew your energy and rest your eyes.
▪ He rested his eyes on her, very conscious of the smooth skin and her flowery perfume.
▪ I took off my shoes and rested my feet on her thighs as she massaged them.
▪ In fact I was having trouble finding a place to rest my eyes.
▪ Should children with defective vision be resting their eyes?
▪ Slinging his mac over the back of a pew he sat down and rested his feet on the one in front.
scuff your feet/heels
shuffle your feet
▪ Monica shuffled her feet nervously and stared at the floor.
▪ Archie shuffled his feet and looked as if he'd like to vanish up his parlour chimney.
▪ Des shuffles his feet, like he's just the driver and didn't oughta be around.
▪ People cease to cough or sniff or shuffle their feet.
▪ She looked down and shuffled her feet inanely.
▪ So I breathe out long and slowly, and I shuffle my feet.
▪ Standing at the kitchen counter, shuffling his feet to the music, he caught himself smiling from ear to ear.
▪ This only discomfited the coroner further, he stared down at the floor and shuffled his feet like some clumsy schoolboy.
stand on your own (two) feet
▪ Able to stand on her own feet.
▪ I guess I shall have to learn to stand on my own feet.
▪ Out-and-out competitive in the world market standing on our own feet?
▪ She's very kind, but we ought to stand on our own feet.
▪ She, who'd always stood on her own feet, fought her own battles.
▪ Such beliefs are able to stand on their own feet, without support from others.
▪ Using the market price means that each division must stand on its own feet, as though it were an independent company.
sweep sb off their feet
▪ Donald absolutely swept me off my feet.
▪ She's just waiting to be swept off her feet by a handsome stranger.
▪ Then Peter came into my life and swept me off my feet.
take the weight off your feet
▪ Come in, take the weight off your feet.
▪ Make the bed - then you can lie down and take the weight off your feet while we talk.
the patter of tiny feet
▪ Are we going to hear the patter of tiny feet?
the tramp of feet/boots
▪ She glanced through the open gateway, her attention caught by the tramp of boots.
think on your feet
▪ He can think on his feet quicker than anyone I've ever met.
▪ I've always been good at thinking on my feet.
▪ Industry today needs workers who can think on their feet and relearn their jobs constantly.
▪ She clasped them and tried to think on her feet.
▪ She had to use a lot of initiative and think on her feet.
▪ Stay alert and think on your feet.
▪ Their ability to think on their feet impressed the boss.
▪ This will probably be to see if you can think on your feet and react well under stress.
▪ You must not be afraid of thinking on your feet and adding good ideas that occur to you as you speak.
vote with your feet
▪ Women are voting with their feet and leaving the party in large numbers.
▪ If not, they will vote with their feet when they are old enough to do so.
▪ Perhaps it is not surprising that many younger doctors are voting with their feet.
▪ The Derbyshire Times noted that defiant parents were voting with their feet by keeping children away from school.
walk sb off their feet
within two feet/ten years etc either way
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ His feet are wide apart, legs straight, and his head is looking down the pitch over the left shoulder.
▪ I left the overstuffed backpack on the floor, wedged between my feet.
▪ It dates from mid-twelfth century and is nearly 50 feet high, built in six stages.
▪ One option included enacting a temporary moratorium that would prohibit installing any wireless facility within 250 feet of a residential zone.
▪ She stood beside McAiister; her feet splayed as though barring the door.
▪ Struggling to his feet, he realised he was waving his sword.
▪ The lamp shattered at their feet.
▪ Use the legs and feet to initiate movement.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Feet

Feet \Feet\, n. pl. See Foot.

Feet

Feet \Feet\, n. [See Feat, n.] Fact; performance. [Obs.]

Feet

Foot \Foot\ (f[oo^]t), n.; pl. Feet (f[=e]t). [OE. fot, foot, pl. fet, feet. AS. f[=o]t, pl. f[=e]t; akin to D. voet, OHG. fuoz, G. fuss, Icel. f[=o]tr, Sw. fot, Dan. fod, Goth. f[=o]tus, L. pes, Gr. poy`s, Skr. p[=a]d, Icel. fet step, pace measure of a foot, feta to step, find one's way. [root]77, 250. Cf. Antipodes, Cap-a-pie, Expedient, Fet to fetch, Fetlock, Fetter, Pawn a piece in chess, Pedal.]

  1. (Anat.) The terminal part of the leg of man or an animal; esp., the part below the ankle or wrist; that part of an animal upon which it rests when standing, or moves. See Manus, and Pes.

  2. (Zo["o]l.) The muscular locomotive organ of a mollusk. It is a median organ arising from the ventral region of body, often in the form of a flat disk, as in snails. See Illust. of Buccinum.

  3. That which corresponds to the foot of a man or animal; as, the foot of a table; the foot of a stocking.

  4. The lowest part or base; the ground part; the bottom, as of a mountain, column, or page; also, the last of a row or series; the end or extremity, esp. if associated with inferiority; as, the foot of a hill; the foot of the procession; the foot of a class; the foot of the bed;; the foot of the page.

    And now at foot Of heaven's ascent they lift their feet.
    --Milton.

  5. Fundamental principle; basis; plan; -- used only in the singular.

    Answer directly upon the foot of dry reason.
    --Berkeley.

  6. Recognized condition; rank; footing; -- used only in the singular. [R.]

    As to his being on the foot of a servant.
    --Walpole.

  7. A measure of length equivalent to twelve inches; one third of a yard. See Yard.

    Note: This measure is supposed to be taken from the length of a man's foot. It differs in length in different countries. In the United States and in England it is 304.8 millimeters.

  8. (Mil.) Soldiers who march and fight on foot; the infantry, usually designated as the foot, in distinction from the cavalry. ``Both horse and foot.''
    --Milton.

  9. (Pros.) A combination of syllables consisting a metrical element of a verse, the syllables being formerly distinguished by their quantity or length, but in modern poetry by the accent.

  10. (Naut.) The lower edge of a sail. Note: Foot is often used adjectively, signifying of or pertaining to a foot or the feet, or to the base or lower part. It is also much used as the first of compounds. Foot artillery. (Mil.)

    1. Artillery soldiers serving in foot.

    2. Heavy artillery. --Farrow. Foot bank (Fort.), a raised way within a parapet. Foot barracks (Mil.), barracks for infantery. Foot bellows, a bellows worked by a treadle. --Knight. Foot company (Mil.), a company of infantry. --Milton. Foot gear, covering for the feet, as stocking, shoes, or boots. Foot hammer (Mach.), a small tilt hammer moved by a treadle. Foot iron.

      1. The step of a carriage.

      2. A fetter. Foot jaw. (Zo["o]l.) See Maxilliped. Foot key (Mus.), an organ pedal. Foot level (Gunnery), a form of level used in giving any proposed angle of elevation to a piece of ordnance. --Farrow. Foot mantle, a long garment to protect the dress in riding; a riding skirt. [Obs.] Foot page, an errand boy; an attendant. [Obs.] Foot passenger, one who passes on foot, as over a road or bridge. Foot pavement, a paved way for foot passengers; a footway; a trottoir. Foot poet, an inferior poet; a poetaster. [R.] --Dryden. Foot post.

        1. A letter carrier who travels on foot.

        2. A mail delivery by means of such carriers. Fot pound, & Foot poundal. (Mech.) See Foot pound and Foot poundal, in the Vocabulary. Foot press (Mach.), a cutting, embossing, or printing press, moved by a treadle. Foot race, a race run by persons on foot. --Cowper. Foot rail, a railroad rail, with a wide flat flange on the lower side. Foot rot, an ulcer in the feet of sheep; claw sickness. Foot rule, a rule or measure twelve inches long. Foot screw, an adjusting screw which forms a foot, and serves to give a machine or table a level standing on an uneven place. Foot secretion. (Zo["o]l.) See Sclerobase. Foot soldier, a soldier who serves on foot. Foot stick (Printing), a beveled piece of furniture placed against the foot of the page, to hold the type in place. Foot stove, a small box, with an iron pan, to hold hot coals for warming the feet. Foot tubercle. (Zo["o]l.) See Parapodium. Foot valve (Steam Engine), the valve that opens to the air pump from the condenser. Foot vise, a kind of vise the jaws of which are operated by a treadle. Foot waling (Naut.), the inside planks or lining of a vessel over the floor timbers. --Totten. Foot wall (Mining), the under wall of an inclosed vein. By foot, or On foot, by walking; as, to pass a stream on foot. Cubic foot. See under Cubic. Foot and mouth disease, a contagious disease (Eczema epizo["o]tica) of cattle, sheep, swine, etc., characterized by the formation of vesicles and ulcers in the mouth and about the hoofs. Foot of the fine (Law), the concluding portion of an acknowledgment in court by which, formerly, the title of land was conveyed. See Fine of land, under Fine, n.; also Chirograph. (b). Square foot. See under Square. To be on foot, to be in motion, action, or process of execution. To keep the foot (Script.), to preserve decorum. ``Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God.'' --Eccl. v. 1. To put one's foot down, to take a resolute stand; to be determined. [Colloq.] To put the best foot foremost, to make a good appearance; to do one's best. [Colloq.] To set on foot, to put in motion; to originate; as, to set on foot a subscription. To put one on his feet, or set one on his feet, to put one in a position to go on; to assist to start. Under foot.

          1. Under the feet; (Fig.) at one's mercy; as, to trample under foot.
            --Gibbon.

          2. Below par. [Obs.] ``They would be forced to sell . . . far under foot.''
            --Bacon.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
feet

plural of foot (n.).

Wiktionary
feet

Etymology 1 n. (en-irregular pluralfoot). Etymology 2

n. (lb en obsolete) fact; performance; feat.

WordNet
feet

See foot

foot
  1. n. a linear unit of length equal to 12 inches or a third of a yard; "he is six feet tall" [syn: ft]

  2. the foot of a human being; "his bare feet projected from his trousers"; "armored from head to foot" [syn: human foot, pes]

  3. the lower part of anything; "curled up on the foot of the bed"; "the foot of the page"; "the foot of the list"; "the foot of the mountain" [ant: head]

  4. travel by foot; "he followed on foot"; "the swiftest of foot"

  5. a foot of a vertebrate other than a human being [syn: animal foot]

  6. a support resembling a pedal extremity; "one foot of the chair was on the carpet"

  7. lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower" [syn: foundation, base, fundament, groundwork, substructure, understructure]

  8. any of various organs of locomotion or attachment in invertebrates [syn: invertebrate foot]

  9. an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot; "there came ten thousand horsemen and as many fully-armed foot" [syn: infantry]

  10. a member of a surveillance team who works on foot or rides as a passenger

  11. a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm [syn: metrical foot, metrical unit]

  12. [also: feet (pl)]

foot
  1. v. pay for something; "pick up the tab"; "pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages"; "foot the bill" [syn: pick]

  2. walk; "let's hoof it to the disco" [syn: leg it, hoof, hoof it]

  3. add a column of numbers [syn: foot up]

  4. [also: feet (pl)]

Usage examples of "feet".

Two weary, worn-out men, one of them on the wrong side of forty, a rocking-stone to take off from, a trembling point of rock some few feet across to land upon, and a bottomless gulf to be cleared in a raging gale!

In front of this entrance, on a space which had been cleared of dead and of the shields and spears which were scattered in all directions as they had fallen or been thrown from the hands of their owners, stood and lay the survivors of the awful struggle, and at their feet were four wounded men.

As the nobles drew their blades and lifted them on high, in accordance with the ancient custom of Okar when a jeddak announces his intention to wed, Dejah Thoris sprang to her feet and, raising her hand aloft, cried in a loud voice that they desist.

The moment its limp, dead feet touched the golden pool a shudder passed through the plant, and a bird somewhere far back in the forest cried out in horror.

From where I hung a few feet above the road I could see along the highway a few hundred yards to where it turned toward the east, and just as I had about given up all hope of escaping the perilous position in which I now was I saw a red warrior come into view from around the bend.

Once the tumultuous upheaval of its dispersion was over, the black smoke clung so closely to the ground, even before its precipitation, that fifty feet up in the air, on the roofs and upper stories of high houses and on great trees, there was a chance of escaping its poison altogether, as was proved even that night at Street Cobham and Ditton.

The lesser attraction of this smaller planet and the reduced air pressure of its greatly rarefied atmosphere, afforded so little resistance to my earthly muscles that the ordinary exertion of the mere act of rising sent me several feet into the air and precipitated me upon my face in the soft and brilliant grass of this strange world.

The grass was as close-cropped and carpet-like as some old English lawn and the trees themselves showed evidence of careful pruning to a uniform height of about fifteen feet from the ground, so that as one turned his glance in any direction the forest had the appearance at a little distance of a vast, high-ceiled chamber.

Their great stems, some of them fully a hundred feet in diameter, attested their prodigious height, which I could only guess at, since at no point could I penetrate their dense foliage above me to more than sixty or eighty feet.

The larger specimens appeared to be about ten or twelve feet in height when they stood erect, and to be proportioned as to torso and lower extremities precisely as is earthly man.

The body and the legs were as symmetrically human as Nature could have fashioned them, and the feet, too, were human in shape, but of monstrous proportions.

From heel to toe they were fully three feet long, and very flat and very broad.

In addition to the features which I have already described, the beast was equipped with a massive tail about six feet in length, quite round where it joined the body, but tapering to a flat, thin blade toward the end, which trailed at right angles to the ground.

Their speed and method of locomotion were both remarkable, springing as they did in great leaps of twenty or thirty feet, much after the manner of a kangaroo.

The plant man charged to within a dozen feet of the party and then, with a bound, rose as though to pass directly above their heads.