| English Dictionary |
FLAT-FOOTED
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does flat-footed mean?
• FLAT-FOOTED (adjective)
The adjective FLAT-FOOTED has 4 senses:
1. with feet flat on the ground; not tiptoe
2. unprepared and unable to react quickly
3. having broad flat feet that usually turn outward
4. forthright and explicit
Familiarity information: FLAT-FOOTED used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
With feet flat on the ground; not tiptoe
Synonyms:
flat-footed; flatfooted
Similar:
footed (having feet)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Unprepared and unable to react quickly
Synonyms:
flat-footed; flatfooted
Context example:
the new product caught their competitors flat-footed
Similar:
unready (not prepared or in a state of readiness; slow to understand or respond)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Having broad flat feet that usually turn outward
Synonyms:
flat-footed; flatfooted
Context example:
a slow flat-footed walk
Similar:
splayfoot; splayfooted (having feet that turn outward)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Forthright and explicit
Synonyms:
flat-footed; flatfooted
Context example:
a flat-footed refusal
Similar:
direct (straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or action)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Context examples
Already I was down from the high peaks and standing flat-footed upon earth.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
After that she didn't play around with the soldiers any more but only with a few flat-footed, short-sighted young men in town who couldn't get into the army at all.
(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"He who would do great things should not attempt them all alone." (Native American proverb, Seneca)
"Man's schemes are inferior to those made by heaven." (Chinese proverb)
"Be patient with a bad neighbor. Maybe hell leave or a disaster will take him out." (Egyptian proverb)