Foot vs. Feet — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on October 6, 2023
Foot refers to a singular unit of measurement or the anatomical structure at the lower end of the leg. Feet is the plural form of foot, referring to more than one unit of measurement or anatomical structure.
Difference Between Foot and Feet
Table of Contents
ADVERTISEMENT
Key Differences
Foot often denotes a singular entity, whether discussing the extremity located at the lower end of the leg or as a unit of measurement in the imperial system, equivalent to 12 inches. Feet, in contrast, serves as the plural form of foot, utilized when referencing more than one of either definition of foot.
While "foot" is singular and used to discuss one unit or one anatomical structure, "feet" captures multiple instances, showcasing an essential grammatical difference between singular and plural forms in English. Therefore, feet symbolizes more than one foot, adhering to the typical English pluralization rules.
The word "foot" seamlessly integrates into various contexts, such as anatomy, measurement, and idiomatic expressions (e.g., "putting your best foot forward"). In contrast, "feet" may be used in similar contexts but always implies a numerical value greater than one, thus altering the meaning or implication of the phrases or statements.
In the context of idiomatic or figurative language, "foot" might appear in singular-focused expressions, highlighting individuality or singularity, like "having a foot in the door." Conversely, "feet" might appear in expressions emphasizing plurality or multiplicity, such as "getting back on one’s feet."
In numerical and quantifiable contexts, "foot" provides singular quantification, e.g., a piece of wood being seven foot long, using "foot" as a collective singular noun. "Feet," however, would specify individual units, introducing subtle variations in expression and implication, such as walking ten thousand steps for healthy feet.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comparison Chart
Number
Singular
Plural
Example Usage
One foot
Two feet
Idiomatic Expression
On the wrong foot
Get back on your feet
Usage in Measurement
A twelve-inch foot ruler
Three feet of fabric
Anatomical Reference
Injured his left foot
Washed his feet
Compare with Definitions
Foot
The lower extremity of the leg below the ankle.
He stubbed his foot on the rock.
Feet
More than one unit of linear measurement.
The room is ten feet wide.
Foot
A unit of linear measurement equal to 12 inches.
The board measures one foot in length.
Feet
The plural of foot, lower extremities of the legs.
She soaked her tired feet in warm water.
Foot
To pay or stand responsibility for a bill.
She offered to foot the bill for dinner.
Feet
A term in poetic meter indicating a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables.
The iambic feet create a rhythmic pattern.
Foot
To provide with a foot or establish a footing.
The tailor will foot the stockings with leather.
Feet
To move or use the feet, usually implying a skill.
Professional dancers must know how to feet to various rhythms.
Foot
The foot (plural: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion.
Feet
The lower parts or bases of several objects.
The feet of the table were carved intricately.
Foot
The lower extremity of the leg below the ankle, on which a person stands or walks.
Feet
Plural of foot.
Foot
A projecting part on which a piece of furniture or each of its legs stands.
Feet
See Foot.
Foot
The lower or lowest part of something; the base or bottom
Complete the form at the foot of the page
The foot of the stairs
Feet
Fact; performance.
Foot
A unit of linear measure equal to 12 inches (30.48 cm)
He's about six feet tall
Shallow water no more than a foot deep
Foot
A group of syllables constituting a metrical unit. In English poetry it consists of stressed and unstressed syllables, while in ancient classical poetry it consists of long and short syllables.
Foot
Cover a distance, especially a long one, on foot
The rider was left to foot it ten or twelve miles back to camp
Foot
The lower extremity of the vertebrate leg that is in direct contact with the ground in standing or walking.
Foot
A structure used for locomotion or attachment in an invertebrate animal, such as the muscular organ extending from the ventral side of a mollusk.
Foot
The lowest part; the bottom:the foot of a mountain; the foot of a page.
Foot
The end opposite the head, top, or front:the foot of a bed; the foot of a parade.
Foot
The termination of the leg of a piece of furniture, especially when shaped or modeled.
Foot
The part of a sewing machine that holds down and guides the cloth.
Foot
(Nautical)The lower edge of a sail.
Foot
(Printing)The part of a type body that forms the sides of the groove at the base.
Foot
(Botany)The base of the sporophyte in mosses and liverworts.
Foot
The inferior part or rank:at the foot of the class.
Foot
The part of a stocking or high-topped boot that encloses the foot.
Foot
A manner of moving; a step:walks with a light foot.
Foot
Speed or momentum, as in a race:"the only other Democrats who've demonstrated any foot till now"(Michael Kramer).
Foot
(used with a pl. verb)Foot soldiers; infantry.
Foot
A unit of poetic meter consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables in any of various set combinations. For example, an iambic foot has an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable.
Foot
In classical quantitative verse, a unit of meter consisting of long and short syllables in any of various set combinations.
Foot
Abbr. ft. or ftA unit of length in the US Customary and British Imperial systems equal to 12 inches (0.3048 meter). See Table at measurement.
Foot
FootsSediment that forms during the refining of oil and other liquids; dregs.
Foot
To go on foot; walk. Often used with it:When their car broke down, they had to foot it the rest of the way.
Foot
To dance. Often used with it:"We foot it all the night / weaving olden dances"(William Butler Yeats).
Foot
(Nautical)To make headway; sail.
Foot
To go by foot over, on, or through; tread.
Foot
To execute the steps of (a dance).
Foot
To add up (a column of numbers) and write the sum at the bottom; total:footed up the bill.
Foot
To pay; defray:footed the expense of their children's education.
Foot
To provide (a stocking, for example) with a foot.
Foot
A biological structure found in many animals that is used for locomotion and that is frequently a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg.
A spider has eight feet.
Foot
(anatomy) Specifically, a human foot, which is found below the ankle and is used for standing and walking.
Southern Italy is shaped like a foot.
Foot
(often used attributively) Travel by walking.
We went there by foot because we could not afford a taxi.
There is a lot of foot traffic on this street.
Foot
The base or bottom of anything.
I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs.
Foot
The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest.
We came and stood at the foot of the bed.
Foot
The end of a rectangular table opposite the head.
The host should sit at the foot of the table.
Foot
A short foot-like projection on the bottom of an object to support it.
The feet of the stove hold it a safe distance above the floor.
Foot
A unit of measure equal to twelve inches or one third of a yard, equal to exactly 30.48 centimetres.
The flag pole at the local high school is about 20 feet high.
Foot
(music) A unit of measure for organ pipes equal to the wavelength of two octaves above middle C, approximately 328 mm.
Foot
Foot soldiers; infantry.
King John went to battle with ten thousand foot and one thousand horse.
Foot
(cigars) The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting.
Foot
(sewing) The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward.
Foot
(printing) The bottommost part of a typed or printed page.
Foot
(printing) The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove.
Foot
(prosody) The basic measure of rhythm in a poem.
Foot
(phonology) The parsing of syllables into prosodic constituents, which are used to determine the placement of stress in languages along with the notions of constituent heads.
Foot
(nautical) The bottom edge of a sail.
To make the mainsail fuller in shape, the outhaul is eased to reduce the tension on the foot of the sail.
Foot
(billiards) The end of a billiard or pool table behind the foot point where the balls are racked.
Foot
(botany) In a bryophyte, that portion of a sporophyte which remains embedded within and attached to the parent gametophyte plant.
Foot
(malacology) The muscular part of a bivalve mollusc or a gastropod by which it moves or holds its position on a surface.
Foot
(molecular biology) The globular lower domain of a protein.
Foot
(geometry) The point of intersection of one line with another that is perpendicular to it.
Foot
Fundamental principle; basis; plan.
Foot
Recognized condition; rank; footing.
Foot
(transitive) To use the foot to kick (usually a ball).
Foot
(transitive) To pay (a bill).
Foot
To tread to measure of music; to dance; to trip; to skip.
Foot
To walk.
Foot
To set foot on; to walk on.
Foot
(obsolete) To set on foot; to establish; to land.
Foot
To renew the foot of (a stocking, etc.).
Foot
To sum up, as the numbers in a column; sometimes with up.
To foot (or foot up) an account
Foot
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.
Foot
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.
Foot
That which corresponds to the foot of a man or animal; as, the foot of a table; the foot of a stocking.
Foot
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 footOf heaven's ascent they lift their feet.
Foot
Fundamental principle; basis; plan; - used only in the singular.
Answer directly upon the foot of dry reason.
Foot
Recognized condition; rank; footing; - used only in the singular.
As to his being on the foot of a servant.
Foot
A measure of length equivalent to twelve inches; one third of a yard. See Yard.
Foot
Soldiers who march and fight on foot; the infantry, usually designated as the foot, in distinction from the cavalry.
Foot
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.
Foot
The lower edge of a sail.
Foot
To tread to measure or music; to dance; to trip; to skip.
Foot
To walk; - opposed to ride or fly.
Foot
To kick with the foot; to spurn.
Foot
To set on foot; to establish; to land.
What confederacy have you with the traitorsLate footed in the kingdom?
Foot
To tread; as, to foot the green.
Foot
To sum up, as the numbers in a column; - sometimes with up; as, to foot (or foot up) an account.
Foot
To seize or strike with the talon.
Foot
To renew the foot of, as of a stocking.
If you are for a merry jaunt, I'll try, for once, who can foot it farthest.
Foot
A linear unit of length equal to 12 inches or a third of a yard;
He is six feet tall
Foot
The foot of a human being;
His bare feet projected from his trousers
Armored from head to foot
Foot
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
Foot
Travel by foot;
He followed on foot
The swiftest of foot
Foot
A foot of a vertebrate other than a human being
Foot
A support resembling a pedal extremity;
One foot of the chair was on the carpet
Foot
Lowest support of a structure;
It was built on a base of solid rock
He stood at the foot of the tower
Foot
Any of various organs of locomotion or attachment in invertebrates
Foot
An army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot;
There came ten thousand horsemen and as many fully-armed foot
Foot
A member of a surveillance team who works on foot or rides as a passenger
Foot
A group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm
Foot
Pay for something;
Pick up the tab
Pick up the burden of high-interest mortgages
Foot the bill
Foot
Walk;
Let's hoof it to the disco
Foot
Add a column of numbers
Foot
The base or bottom of something.
The foot of the mountain is densely forested.
Common Curiosities
What is the singular form of "feet"?
The singular form of "feet" is "foot."
How many inches does one foot contain?
One foot contains 12 inches.
Can "foot" refer to an anatomical structure?
Yes, "foot" can refer to the lower extremity of the leg.
Is "foot" used in idiomatic expressions?
Yes, for example, "putting your best foot forward."
When should I use "feet" in a sentence?
Use "feet" when discussing more than one unit or anatomical structure.
Can "foot" refer to the base of objects?
Yes, like "the foot of the mountain" or "the foot of the bed."
Is "feet" used in expressions as well?
Yes, for instance, "cold feet" means nervousness or hesitation.
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
Cuddle vs. Hug
Next Comparison
Assist vs. GuideAuthor Spotlight
Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
