Foot vs. Sole — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 9, 2024
Foot refers to the entire lower extremity of the leg below the ankle, while the sole is specifically the underside part of the foot that touches the ground.
Difference Between Foot and Sole
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
The foot is a complex anatomical structure consisting of bones, muscles, and joints that support mobility and balance. It includes the heel, arch, and toes. The sole, on the other hand, is a specific part of the foot. It refers to the bottom surface of the foot that makes contact with the ground and is crucial for weight distribution and shock absorption.
The foot is integral to a variety of movements, including walking, running, and jumping, and plays a key role in maintaining posture and balance. In contrast, the sole's primary function is to provide padding and protection to the foot by absorbing the impact with the ground, thereby preventing injury.
In terms of sensitivity, the foot as a whole contains various nerve endings sensitive to touch, temperature, and pain. The sole, whereas, is particularly sensitive and has thicker skin to protect against punctures and abrasions as it bears the brunt of contact with various surfaces.
Medical issues related to the foot can include a range of conditions affecting any part, such as bunions, fractures, or arthritis. Meanwhile, issues specifically affecting the sole include calluses, plantar fasciitis, and puncture wounds, underscoring its distinct medical considerations.
Culturally, the foot has been significant in many societies for symbolism and aesthetic appreciation, influencing fashion and footwear design. The sole, on the other hand, often features functionally in discussions about foot health, particularly regarding the design of shoes that offer proper support and cushioning.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
The lower extremity of the leg below the ankle.
The underside part of the foot.
Function
Supports mobility and balance.
Provides padding and protection.
Sensitivity
Sensitive to touch, temperature, and pain.
Especially thick and sensitive to pressure.
Common Medical Issues
Bunions, fractures, arthritis.
Calluses, plantar fasciitis, puncture wounds.
Cultural Significance
Symbolic in many cultures, affects footwear design.
Focused on health and practical footwear.
Compare with Definitions
Foot
The end part of the leg on which a person stands and moves.
She stood on one foot while tying the shoelace of the other.
Sole
The undersurface of a person’s foot.
Walking barefoot on the hot sand burned her soles.
Foot
The bottom or lower part of something.
The foot of the mountain is densely forested.
Sole
Single, unique.
She was the sole survivor of the accident.
Foot
To pay or settle a bill.
He offered to foot the bill for dinner.
Sole
To put a new bottom on footwear.
The cobbler resoled my favorite boots.
Foot
The end of a bed, table, or chair leg.
He placed his bag at the foot of the bed.
Sole
The bottom part of something, such as a shoe or sock.
The sole of his shoe was worn out.
Foot
A measurement unit equal to 12 inches or 0.3048 meters.
The room was 10 feet long.
Sole
A type of flat fish.
Sole is often considered a delicacy in fine dining.
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.
Sole
A shipping forecast area in the north-eastern Atlantic, covering the western approaches to the English Channel.
Foot
The lower extremity of the leg below the ankle, on which a person stands or walks.
Sole
Put a new sole on to (a shoe)
He wanted several pairs of boots to be soled and heeled
Foot
A projecting part on which a piece of furniture or each of its legs stands.
Sole
One and only
My sole aim was to contribute to the national team
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
Sole
(especially of a woman) unmarried.
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
Sole
The underside of the foot.
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.
Sole
The underside of a shoe or boot, often excluding the heel.
Foot
Cover a distance, especially a long one, on foot
The rider was left to foot it ten or twelve miles back to camp
Sole
The bottom surface of a plow.
Foot
The lower extremity of the vertebrate leg that is in direct contact with the ground in standing or walking.
Sole
The bottom surface of the head of a golf club.
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.
Sole
Any of various chiefly marine flatfishes of the family Soleidae, having both eyes on the right side of the body, and including food fishes such as the Dover sole of the Atlantic Ocean.
Foot
The lowest part; the bottom:the foot of a mountain; the foot of a page.
Sole
Any of various other flatfishes, especially certain flounders.
Foot
The end opposite the head, top, or front:the foot of a bed; the foot of a parade.
Sole
To furnish (a shoe or boot) with a sole.
Foot
The termination of the leg of a piece of furniture, especially when shaped or modeled.
Sole
To put the sole of (a golf club) on the ground, as in preparing to make a stroke.
Foot
The part of a sewing machine that holds down and guides the cloth.
Sole
Being the only one
The sole survivor of the crash.
Foot
(Nautical)The lower edge of a sail.
Sole
Of or relating to only one individual or group; exclusive
She took sole command of the ship.
Foot
(Printing)The part of a type body that forms the sides of the groove at the base.
Sole
Only.
Foot
(Botany)The base of the sporophyte in mosses and liverworts.
Sole
(legal) Unmarried (especially of a woman); widowed.
Foot
The inferior part or rank:at the foot of the class.
Sole
Unique; unsurpassed.
The sole brilliance of this gem.
Foot
The part of a stocking or high-topped boot that encloses the foot.
Sole
With independent power; unfettered.
A sole authority.
Foot
A manner of moving; a step:walks with a light foot.
Sole
(anatomy) The bottom or plantar surface of the foot.
Foot
Speed or momentum, as in a race:"the only other Democrats who've demonstrated any foot till now"(Michael Kramer).
Sole
(footwear) The bottom of a shoe or boot.
Foot
(used with a pl. verb)Foot soldiers; infantry.
Sole
(obsolete) The foot itself.
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.
Sole
(fish) Solea solea, a flatfish of the family Soleidae.
Foot
In classical quantitative verse, a unit of meter consisting of long and short syllables in any of various set combinations.
Sole
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.
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.
Sole
The bottom of the body of a plough; the slade.
Foot
FootsSediment that forms during the refining of oil and other liquids; dregs.
Sole
The bottom of a furrow.
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.
Sole
The end section of the chanter of a set of bagpipes.
Foot
To dance. Often used with it:"We foot it all the night / weaving olden dances"(William Butler Yeats).
Sole
The horny substance under a horse's foot, which protects the more tender parts.
Foot
(Nautical)To make headway; sail.
Sole
(military) The bottom of an embrasure.
Foot
To go by foot over, on, or through; tread.
Sole
(nautical) A piece of timber attached to the lower part of the rudder, to make it even with the false keel.
Foot
To execute the steps of (a dance).
Sole
(nautical) The floor inside the cabin of a yacht or boat
Foot
To add up (a column of numbers) and write the sum at the bottom; total:footed up the bill.
Sole
(mining) The seat or bottom of a mine; applied to horizontal veins or lodes.
Foot
To pay; defray:footed the expense of their children's education.
Sole
A wooden band or yoke put around the neck of an ox or cow in the stall.
Foot
To provide (a stocking, for example) with a foot.
Sole
A pond or pool; a dirty pond of standing water.
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.
Sole
(transitive) to put a sole on (a shoe or boot)
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.
Sole
To pull by the ears; to pull about; haul; lug.
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.
Sole
Any one of several species of flatfishes of the genus Solea and allied genera of the family Soleidæ, especially the common European species (Solea vulgaris), which is a valuable food fish.
Foot
The base or bottom of anything.
I'll meet you at the foot of the stairs.
Sole
The bottom of the foot; hence, also, rarely, the foot itself.
The dove found no rest for the sole of her foot.
Hast wandered through the world now long a day,Yet ceasest not thy weary soles to lead.
Foot
The part of a flat surface on which the feet customarily rest.
We came and stood at the foot of the bed.
Sole
The bottom of a shoe or boot, or the piece of leather which constitutes the bottom.
The "caliga" was a military shoe, with a very thick sole, tied above the instep.
Foot
The end of a rectangular table opposite the head.
The host should sit at the foot of the table.
Sole
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.
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.
Sole
To furnish with a sole; as, to sole a shoe.
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.
Sole
Being or acting without another; single; individual; only.
He, be sure . . . first and last will reignSole king.
Foot
(music) A unit of measure for organ pipes equal to the wavelength of two octaves above middle C, approximately 328 mm.
Sole
Single; unmarried; as, a feme sole.
Foot
Foot soldiers; infantry.
King John went to battle with ten thousand foot and one thousand horse.
Sole
The underside of footwear or a golfclub
Foot
(cigars) The end of a cigar which is lit, and usually cut before lighting.
Sole
Lean flesh of any of several flatfish
Foot
(sewing) The part of a sewing machine which presses downward on the fabric, and may also serve to move it forward.
Sole
The underside of the foot
Foot
(printing) The bottommost part of a typed or printed page.
Sole
Right-eyed flatfish; many are valued as food; most common in warm seas especially European
Foot
(printing) The base of a piece of type, forming the sides of the groove.
Sole
Put a new sole on;
Sole the shoes
Foot
(prosody) The basic measure of rhythm in a poem.
Sole
Not divided or shared with others;
They have exclusive use of the machine
Sole rights of publication
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.
Sole
Being the only one; single and isolated from others;
The lone doctor in the entire county
A lonesome pine
An only child
The sole heir
The sole example
A solitary instance of cowardice
A solitary speck in the sky
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
Common Curiosities
How is the sole important in shoe design?
The sole is crucial in shoe design for ensuring adequate support and cushioning.
What is the main function of the foot?
The main function of the foot is to support mobility and balance.
What materials are typically used for shoe soles?
Materials like rubber, leather, and synthetic compounds are commonly used.
What does it mean to "foot the bill"?
To "foot the bill" means to pay for something, typically a group expense.
What is the primary purpose of the sole?
The primary purpose of the sole is to provide padding and protect the foot.
Can the term "foot" refer to anything other than the body part?
Yes, "foot" can also refer to a unit of measurement, or the bottom of an object.
What are common problems associated with the sole of the foot?
Common problems include calluses, plantar fasciitis, and puncture wounds.
Is the sole sensitive to touch?
Yes, the sole is sensitive, particularly to pressure and texture.
Can the sole be repaired if worn out?
Yes, soles can be repaired or replaced by resoling the footwear.
How does foot posture affect overall health?
Poor foot posture can lead to problems in the knees, hips, and back.
Are there any cultural practices involving the foot?
Yes, many cultures have practices involving the foot, such as foot washing in some religious rituals.
What makes the sole of the foot unique compared to other body parts?
The sole is unique due to its thick, durable skin and its role in absorbing impact.
What is a bunion, and how does it relate to the foot?
A bunion is a bony bump that forms on the joint at the base of the big toe, affecting the foot's structure.
What type of footwear is best for the health of the foot's sole?
Footwear with proper arch support and cushioned soles is best.
What role does the foot play in sports?
In sports, the foot is crucial for providing the force and balance needed for various activities.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
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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.
