flat-footed
Britishadjective
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having flatfoot
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informal
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clumsy or awkward
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downright and uncompromising
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informal off guard or unawares (often in the phrase catch flat-footed )
Other Word Forms
- flat-footedly adverb
- flat-footedness noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Wood dictated the tempo across 12 rounds against a frustrated, flat-footed Warrington.
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026
“And the city got caught flat-footed trying to keep up.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026
Gomez raced clear of the flat-footed Newcastle defence and fired against the near post.
From Barron's • Nov. 5, 2025
Caught flat-footed by 9/11, the CIA requested new authorities as the only way to catch up to the threat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
Tab jumped experimentally, landing with flat-footed thuds on the stage.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
