backfoot

B3A1C3K5F4O1O1T1

verb

To put on the defensive; to put off balance.

Scrabble 19
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbbackfoot (third-person singular simple present backfoots, present participle backfooting, simple past and past participle backfooted)

present singular third person backfoots · participle present backfooting · participle past backfooted · past backfooted · alternative back-foot

  1. transitiveTo put on the defensive; to put off balance.

    Hamlet is bitter, evasive, now backfooting them, now attacking, now genial - their job isn't going to be easy.

    1996, Kenneth Branagh, “The Film diaries”, in Hamlet, page 188
    1 more example

    Koizumi's government has been backfooted by the indictment of Horie, the former CEO of Livedoor Co., on charges of violating securities regulations

    2006 February 21, “Japan opposition gears up for showdown on Livedoor”, in Boston Globe

Origin

From back + foot.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

factbook
Cite this entry
APA

backfoot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backfoot

MLA

“backfoot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backfoot. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “backfoot,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backfoot.

Source: backfoot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.