hotfoot

American  

[hot-foot] / ˈhɒtˌfʊt /

noun

plural

hotfoots

1. a practical joke in which a match, inserted surreptitiously between the sole and upper of the victim's shoe, is lighted and allowed to burn down.

---

verb (used without object)

1. Informal. to go in great haste; walk or run hurriedly or rapidly (often followed byit ).

   to hotfoot it to the bus stop.

adverb

1. with great speed in going; in haste.

hotfoot British  

/ ˈhɒtˌfʊt /

adverb

1. with all possible speed; quickly

---

verb

1. to move quickly

Etymology

Origin of hotfoot

1250–1300; Middle English hot fot (adv.). See hot, foot

Example Sentences

Howard is only one of the many characters woven into “Mary Toft,” and Palmer never resorts to pantomime — except, perhaps, for Nathanael St. André, the first surgeon to hotfoot it to Godalming.

From New York Times • Nov. 19, 2019

Washington has been getting poked in the eye, given the hotfoot, had bubble gum put on its hat or had its pants pulled down in public since 1901 by the “national pastime.”

From Washington Post • Oct. 11, 2019

I decided to take time off work the very next day and hotfoot it to Tel Aviv, to get ahead of any competitors.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 7, 2019

Carr got up to talk to more voters, to pay for everything they’d ordered, and then to hotfoot it to a plane that would take him around the state.

From Slate • Aug. 8, 2014

"Wasn't it worth missing the contest to see Mr. Kravitz get that hotfoot?" he asked hopefully.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville