INSTEP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does instep mean? 

• INSTEP (noun)
  The noun INSTEP has 2 senses:

1. the arch of the foot

2. the part of a shoe or stocking that covers the arch of the foot

  Familiarity information: INSTEP used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSTEP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The arch of the foot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("instep" is a kind of...):

arch (a curved bony structure supporting or enclosing organs (especially the inner sides of the feet))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "instep"):

fallen arch; sunken arch (an instep flattened so the entire sole rests on the ground)

Holonyms ("instep" is a part of...):

foot; human foot; pes (the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The part of a shoe or stocking that covers the arch of the foot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("instep" is a kind of...):

covering (an artifact that covers something else (usually to protect or shelter or conceal it))

Holonyms ("instep" is a part of...):

boot (footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg)

shoe (footwear shaped to fit the foot (below the ankle) with a flexible upper of leather or plastic and a sole and heel of heavier material)

stocking (close-fitting hosiery to cover the foot and leg; come in matched pairs (usually used in the plural))

 Context examples 

I could distinguish the outline of an instep where the wet foot had been placed in coming in.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But near the instep there is a small circular wafer of paper with the shopman’s hieroglyphics upon it.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At the command of the bailiff they plucked off the fellow's shoe, and there sure enough at the side of the instep, wrapped in a piece of fine sendall, lay a long, dark splinter of wood.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)