Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Secure placement of the feet in standing or moving.
- noun A surface or its condition with respect to its suitability for walking or running, especially the condition of a racetrack.
- noun A secure place for the feet; a foothold.
- noun The act of moving on foot.
- noun Architecture The supporting base or groundwork of a structure, as for a monument or wall.
- noun A basis or foundation.
- noun Position or rank in relation to others; standing.
- noun Terms of social interaction.
- noun The act of making a foot for something, such as a stocking.
- noun The sum of a column of figures.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Walk; tread; step; footstep.
- noun Dance; rhythmical tread.
- noun Track; footprint.
- noun Place for the foot; ground to stand on.
- noun Hence Established place; secure position; foothold.
- noun Basis; foundation.
- noun Mutual standing; reciprocal relation: as, a friendly footing.
- noun The act of putting a foot to anything, or that which is added as a foot.
- noun The act of adding up a column of figures, or the amount of such a column.
- noun A narrow piece of netting or the like, having two parallel edges, used in women's dress as a basis upon which a scalloped or other ornamental edging can be sewed.
- noun The straight edge of a piece of lace which is sewed to a garment, as distinguished from the scalloped edge, which is left free.
- noun The finer detached fragments of whale-blubber, not wholly deprived of oil.
- noun In architecture, a spreading course at the base or foundation of a wall.
- noun The lower division of the slope of an embankment exposed to the sea.
- noun A piece of wood inserted in the shaftment of an arrow at the nock.
- noun An entertainment given on entering a school, or any new place or office.
- noun In archery: A piece of hard wood or other material placed at the forward end of an arrow to give weight and serve for the attachment of the head; foreshaft.
- noun The position of an archer in shooting.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Ground for the foot; place for the foot to rest on; firm foundation to stand on.
- noun Standing; position; established place; basis for operation; permanent settlement; foothold.
- noun Relative condition; state.
- noun Tread; step; especially, measured tread.
- noun The act of adding up a column of figures; the amount or sum total of such a column.
- noun The act of putting a foot to anything; also, that which is added as a foot.
- noun A narrow cotton lace, without figures.
- noun The finer refuse part of whale blubber, not wholly deprived of oil.
- noun (Arch. & Enging.) The thickened or sloping portion of a wall, or of an embankment at its foot.
- noun (Arch.) one of the courses of masonry at the foot of a wall, broader than the courses above.
- noun to pay a fee on first doing anything, as working at a trade or in a shop.
- noun the tie beam of a roof.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
ground for the foot;place for the foot torest on;firm foundation tostand on. - noun A
standing ;position ;established place;basis foroperation ;permanent settlement ;foothold . - noun A
relative condition ;state . - noun A
tread ;step ; especially, measured tread. - noun A
footprint orfootprints ;tracks , someone'strail . - noun
stability or balance when standing on one's feet - noun The act of
adding up acolumn offigures ; theamount orsum total of such a column. - noun The act of putting a foot to anything; also, that which is added as a foot; as, the footing of a
stocking .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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An hour later we made our way across the poop to the chart-house, helping each other to maintain footing as the Elsinore plunged and bucked in the rising sea and was pressed over and down by the weight of wind on her few remaining set sails.
CHAPTER XXVIII 2010
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And while that might be true for the vast number of engineers who define the company's internal culture, the external impression of Google being just another tech titan like Microsoft will gain footing, making the audience for Google's messages less tolerant of ambiguity and less forgiving of mistakes.
Anil Dash 2009
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Proper footing is key in not getting yourself hurt.
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When it announced the sell-off in September 2009, the IMF said the move was an important step in putting its finances on a "sound long-term footing".
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The finance unit now is on significantly firmer, longer-term footing—thanks in part to paring back its reliance on short-term borrowing—and problem loans have been contained.
A Waiting Game at Finance Unit Bob Sechler 2011
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And while that might be true for the vast number of engineers who define the company's internal culture, the external impression of Google being just another tech titan like Microsoft will gain footing, making the audience for Google's messages less tolerant of ambiguity and less forgiving of mistakes.
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While a less-indebted public sector will put the economy on better long-term footing, short-term cuts can have immediate effects at a time when the economy is struggling to create jobs.
Slow Recovery Curbs New Health-Care Jobs Conor Dougherty 2011
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Proper footing is key in not getting yourself hurt.
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IMO, although the journey to a sound economic footing is severally, trustworthy, commencing within uncertaintly is the undesireable reality, elstwhile, the end-point is only an ‘upturn’; ending with a familiar economy is desireable, yet often this may be impossible; working with extant resources effectively is the only real goal, and yet there is naught, any, alternative!
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This was the generous view of the American public, an assumption that voters had what Dunn called a “very sophisticated” understanding of how reducing our dependence on foreign oil, reforming our bloated health care system, and fixing our public schools were all connected to putting the economy on a sounder long-term footing.
THE PROMISE JONATHAN ALTER 2010
bilby commented on the word footing
Footing is used in Italian to mean jogging.
Foot, useful tool in running at a gentle pace (though admittedly easier with two ... why not feeting?) PLUS all purpose gerund-maker -ing.
November 20, 2007
sionnach commented on the word footing
hacer footing is also the Spanish term for jogging
November 20, 2007
Gammerstang commented on the word footing
(noun) - (1) Liquor or money given by a person to his fellow labourers when he enters on a new office or employment.
--William Carr's Dialect of Craven . . . in the County of York, 1828
(2) If a gentleman takes up a tool and begins to do a little of the work, whether farming or handicraft, it is quite usual for one of the men to go and wipe his shoes with his sleeve or cap. This is the form of asking for the footing.
--Frederick Elworthy's West Somerset Word-book, 1888
January 14, 2018