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Foot vs. Leg — What's the Difference?

Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on June 27, 2024
The foot is the lower extremity of the leg that makes contact with the ground, while the leg is the limb extending from the hip to the ankle.
Foot vs. Leg — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Foot and Leg

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Key Differences

Both the foot and leg are crucial parts of the human anatomy, with each having distinct roles and structures. The foot serves as the base of support and is responsible for balance, while the leg enables movement and weight-bearing.
The foot, comprising the toes, arch, and heel, is intricately designed to absorb shock and propel the body forward during walking and running. The leg, on the other hand, houses major muscles like the quadriceps and hamstrings which facilitate movement.
When considering bone structure, the foot contains 26 bones including the tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges. The leg primarily consists of two bones: the tibia and fibula, with the femur being part of the thigh, not the leg.
The functionality of the foot and leg are interconnected. For instance, issues in the foot can lead to discomfort or altered movement in the leg and vice versa. For example, flat feet or plantar fasciitis in the foot might lead to leg pain or altered gait.
In essence, while both the foot and leg are parts of the lower extremity, their anatomical compositions, functionalities, and roles in movement and support are distinct.
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Comparison Chart

Function

Supports body weight, aids in balance and propulsion
Facilitates movement, supports body weight

Components

Toes, arch, heel
Tibia, fibula, muscles, ligaments, tendons

Bones

26 bones including tarsals, metatarsals, phalanges
Primarily tibia and fibula

Issues

Plantar fasciitis, flat feet, bunions
Fractures, shin splints, muscle strains

Location

Lowest part of the leg, makes contact with the ground
Extends from the hip to the ankle

Compare with Definitions

Foot

A unit of linear measurement equal to 12 inches.
The room is ten feet in length.

Leg

A limb or member of an animal used for supporting the body, and in running, climbing, and swimming; esp., that part of the limb between the knee and foot.

Foot

The rhythmic emphasis in poetry or music.
The poem had a distinct foot that resonated with the readers.

Leg

The part of any article of clothing which covers the leg; as, the leg of a stocking or of a pair of trousers.

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.

Leg

The limb in humans and other animals that extends from the hip to the ankle.
He fractured his leg during a soccer match.

Foot

The lower extremity of the leg below the ankle, on which a person stands or walks.

Leg

A part of a garment that covers the leg.
The leg of his jeans was torn.

Foot

A projecting part on which a piece of furniture or each of its legs stands.

Leg

One of the supports on which an object stands.
The table leg was wobbly, so he fixed it.

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

Leg

A section or stage of a journey or process.
The next leg of their trip is a flight to Paris.

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

Leg

The ability to run or last in sports, especially in horse racing.
The horse doesn't have the leg for such a long race.

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.

Leg

A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts".

Foot

Cover a distance, especially a long one, on foot
The rider was left to foot it ten or twelve miles back to camp

Leg

Each of the limbs on which a person or animal walks and stands
He was off as fast as his legs would carry him
Adams broke his leg
A leg injury

Foot

The lower extremity of the vertebrate leg that is in direct contact with the ground in standing or walking.

Leg

Each of the supports of a chair, table, or other structure
The house was set on legs
Table legs

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.

Leg

A section or stage of a journey or process
The return leg of his journey

Foot

The lowest part; the bottom:the foot of a mountain; the foot of a page.

Leg

A branch of a forked object.

Foot

The end opposite the head, top, or front:the foot of a bed; the foot of a parade.

Leg

The half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman's feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball
He played a lucky stroke to leg

Foot

The termination of the leg of a piece of furniture, especially when shaped or modeled.

Leg

A deferential gesture made by drawing back one leg and bending it while keeping the front leg straight.

Foot

The part of a sewing machine that holds down and guides the cloth.

Leg

Travel by foot; walk
I am part of a team legging it around London

Foot

(Nautical)The lower edge of a sail.

Leg

Propel (a boat) through a tunnel on a canal by pushing with one's legs against the tunnel roof or sides
A little boy was lying on his back, legging the boat along

Foot

(Printing)The part of a type body that forms the sides of the groove at the base.

Leg

One of the limbs or appendages that an animal uses for locomotion or support.

Foot

(Botany)The base of the sporophyte in mosses and liverworts.

Leg

One of the lower or hind limbs in humans and other primates.

Foot

The inferior part or rank:at the foot of the class.

Leg

The part of the limb between the knee and foot in vertebrates.

Foot

The part of a stocking or high-topped boot that encloses the foot.

Leg

The back part of the hindquarter of a meat animal.

Foot

A manner of moving; a step:walks with a light foot.

Leg

A supporting part resembling a leg in shape or function.

Foot

Speed or momentum, as in a race:"the only other Democrats who've demonstrated any foot till now"(Michael Kramer).

Leg

One of the branches of a forked or jointed object.

Foot

(used with a pl. verb)Foot soldiers; infantry.

Leg

The part of a garment, especially of a pair of pants, that covers the leg.

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.

Leg

(Mathematics) Either side of a right triangle that is not the hypotenuse.

Foot

In classical quantitative verse, a unit of meter consisting of long and short syllables in any of various set combinations.

Leg

(Nautical) The distance traveled by a sailing vessel on a single tack.

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.

Leg

The part of an air route or a flight pattern that is between two successive stops, positions, or changes in direction.

Foot

FootsSediment that forms during the refining of oil and other liquids; dregs.

Leg

One of several contests that must be successfully completed in order to determine the winner of a competition.

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.

Leg

(Sports) One stretch of a relay race.

Foot

To dance. Often used with it:"We foot it all the night / weaving olden dances"(William Butler Yeats).

Leg

Legs The narrow streams of swirled wine or spirits that run slowly down along the inside of a glass, often believed to indicate that the liquid is full-bodied.

Foot

(Nautical)To make headway; sail.

Leg

Legs(Slang) The ability to last or sustain success, especially by appealing to an audience
A blockbuster movie that has legs.

Foot

To go by foot over, on, or through; tread.

Leg

To go on foot; walk or run. Often used with the indefinite it
Because we missed the bus, we had to leg it across town.

Foot

To execute the steps of (a dance).

Leg

A limb or appendage that an animal uses for support or locomotion on land.
Insects have six legs.

Foot

To add up (a column of numbers) and write the sum at the bottom; total:footed up the bill.

Leg

In humans, the lower limb extending from the groin to the ankle.
Dan won't be able to come to the party, since he broke his leg last week and is now on crutches.

Foot

To pay; defray:footed the expense of their children's education.

Leg

(anatomy) The portion of the lower limb of a human that extends from the knee to the ankle.

Foot

To provide (a stocking, for example) with a foot.

Leg

A part of garment, such as a pair of trousers/pants, that covers a leg.
The left leg of these jeans has a tear.

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.

Leg

A rod-like protrusion from an inanimate object, such as a piece of furniture, supporting it from underneath.
The legs of a chair or table

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.

Leg

(figurative) Something that supports.
This observation is an important leg of my argument.

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.

Leg

A stage of a journey, race etc.
After six days, we're finally in the last leg of our cross-country trip.

Foot

The base or bottom of anything.
I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs.

Leg

(nautical) A distance that a sailing vessel does without changing the sails from one side to the other.

Foot

The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest.
We came and stood at the foot of the bed.

Leg

(nautical) One side of a multiple-sided (often triangular) course in a sailing race.

Foot

The end of a rectangular table opposite the head.
The host should sit at the foot of the table.

Leg

(sports) A single game or match played in a tournament or other sporting contest.

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.

Leg

(geometry) One of the two sides of a right triangle that is not the hypotenuse.

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.

Leg

(geometry) One of the branches of a hyperbola or other curve which extend outward indefinitely.

Foot

(music) A unit of measure for organ pipes equal to the wavelength of two octaves above middle C, approximately 328 mm.

Leg

The ability of something to persist or succeed over a long period of time.
This proposal has no legs. Almost everyone opposes it.

Foot

Foot soldiers; infantry.
King John went to battle with ten thousand foot and one thousand horse.

Leg

A disreputable sporting character; a blackleg.

Foot

(cigars) The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting.

Leg

An extension of a steam boiler downward, in the form of a narrow space between vertical plates, sometimes nearly surrounding the furnace and ash pit, and serving to support the boiler; called also water leg.

Foot

(sewing) The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward.

Leg

In a grain elevator, the case containing the lower part of the belt which carries the buckets.

Foot

(printing) The bottommost part of a typed or printed page.

Leg

Denotes the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs; the left side for a right-handed batsman.
Ponsonby-Smythe hit a thumping drive through the leg fielders.

Foot

(printing) The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove.

Leg

(telephony) A branch or lateral circuit connecting an instrument with the main line.

Foot

(prosody) The basic measure of rhythm in a poem.

Leg

(electrical) A branch circuit; one phase of a polyphase system.

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.

Leg

(finance) An underlying instrument of a derivatives strategy.

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.

Leg

An army soldier assigned to a paratrooper unit who has not yet been qualified as a paratrooper.

Foot

(billiards) The end of a billiard or pool table behind the foot point where the balls are racked.

Leg

(archaic) A gesture of submission; a bow or curtsey. Chiefly in phrase make a leg.

Foot

(botany) In a bryophyte, that portion of a sporophyte which remains embedded within and attached to the parent gametophyte plant.

Leg

(journalism) A column, as a unit of length of text as laid out.

Foot

(malacology) The muscular part of a bivalve mollusc or a gastropod by which it moves or holds its position on a surface.

Leg

To remove the legs from an animal carcass.

Foot

(molecular biology) The globular lower domain of a protein.

Leg

To build legs onto a platform or stage for support.

Foot

(geometry) The point of intersection of one line with another that is perpendicular to it.

Leg

To put a series of three or more options strikes into the stock market.

Foot

Fundamental principle; basis; plan.

Leg

To apply force using the leg (as in 'to leg a horse').

Foot

Recognized condition; rank; footing.

Leg

Alternative spelling of leg.

Foot

(transitive) To use the foot to kick (usually a ball).

Leg

That which resembles a leg in form or use; especially, any long and slender support on which any object rests; as, the leg of a table; the leg of a pair of compasses or dividers.

Foot

(transitive) To pay (a bill).

Leg

A bow, esp. in the phrase to make a leg; probably from drawing the leg backward in bowing.
He that will give a cap and make a leg in thanks for a favor he never received.

Foot

To tread to measure of music; to dance; to trip; to skip.

Leg

A disreputable sporting character; a blackleg.

Foot

To walk.

Leg

The course and distance made by a vessel on one tack or between tacks.

Foot

To set foot on; to walk on.

Leg

An extension of the boiler downward, in the form of a narrow space between vertical plates, sometimes nearly surrounding the furnace and ash pit, and serving to support the boiler; - called also water leg.

Foot

(obsolete) To set on foot; to establish; to land.

Leg

The case containing the lower part of the belt which carries the buckets.

Foot

To renew the foot of (a stocking, etc.).

Leg

A fielder whose position is on the outside, a little in rear of the batter.

Foot

To sum up, as the numbers in a column; sometimes with up.
To foot (or foot up) an account

Leg

Either side of a triangle distinguished from the base or, in a right triangle, from the hypotenuse; also, an indefinitely extending branch of a curve, as of a hyperbola.

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.

Leg

A branch or lateral circuit connecting an instrument with the main line.

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.

Leg

A branch circuit; one phase of a polyphase system.

Foot

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

Leg

To use as a leg, with it as object

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.

Leg

A human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part between the knee and ankle

Foot

Fundamental principle; basis; plan; - used only in the singular.
Answer directly upon the foot of dry reason.

Leg

A structure in animals that is similar to a human leg and used for locomotion

Foot

Recognized condition; rank; footing; - used only in the singular.
As to his being on the foot of a servant.

Leg

One of the supports for a piece of furniture

Foot

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

Leg

A part of a forked or branching shape;
He broke off one of the branches
They took the south fork

Foot

Soldiers who march and fight on foot; the infantry, usually designated as the foot, in distinction from the cavalry.

Leg

The limb of an animal used for food

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.

Leg

A prosthesis that replaces a missing leg

Foot

The lower edge of a sail.

Leg

Cloth covering consisting of the part of a garment that covers the leg

Foot

To tread to measure or music; to dance; to trip; to skip.

Leg

(nautical) the distance traveled by a sailing vessel on a single tack

Foot

To walk; - opposed to ride or fly.

Leg

A section or portion of a journey or course;
Then we embarked on the second stage of our Caribbean cruise

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 terminal part of the leg upon which an individual stands and walks.
He stepped on a sharp object and injured his foot.

Foot

The lower part or base of something.
The foot of the mountain is densely forested.

Foot

A device on a sewing machine for holding the fabric flat.
She changed the foot to stitch delicate fabric.

Common Curiosities

Which bones are in the foot?

The foot has 26 bones, including tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges.

Are ankle issues considered foot or leg problems?

The ankle is the joint between the foot and leg, so issues could pertain to either or both.

How many bones are in the leg?

The leg primarily has the tibia and fibula.

Are the foot and leg the same thing?

No, the foot is the lower part of the leg that touches the ground, while the leg is from the hip to the ankle.

Can issues in the foot affect the leg?

Yes, problems in the foot can lead to leg pain or altered movement.

What muscles are found in the leg?

The leg houses muscles like the quadriceps and hamstrings.

Why is the foot arch important?

The foot arch aids in balance, weight distribution, and shock absorption.

Are there shoes designed for foot health?

Yes, orthopedic shoes can support foot health and address specific issues.

How do calf muscles relate to the leg?

Calf muscles are located at the back of the leg and aid in movement.

Why do people get foot massages?

Foot massages can relieve tension, improve circulation, and promote relaxation.

What does "leg" mean in a relay race?

In a relay, a "leg" refers to the portion of the race run by one individual.

What is "flat foot"?

Flat foot is a condition where the foot arch collapses or is very low.

How is "foot" used as a measurement?

"Foot" is a unit of length, equal to 12 inches.

Can leg pain originate from the back?

Yes, issues like sciatica in the spine can cause referred leg pain.

Are there exercises specifically for foot health?

Yes, exercises like toe curls or arch lifts can strengthen foot muscles.

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Author Spotlight

Written by
Fiza Rafique
Fiza 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.
Tayyaba 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.

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