hoof

American  

[hoof, hoof] / hʊf, huf /

noun

• hoofs,
  plural
• hooves,
  plural
• hoof
  plural

1. the horny covering protecting the ends of the digits or encasing the foot in certain animals, as the ox and horse.

2. the entire foot of a horse, donkey, etc.

3. Older Use. a hoofed animal, especially one of a herd.

4. Informal. the human foot.

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verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to walk (often followed byit ).

   Let's hoof it to the supermarket.

verb (used without object)

1. Slang. to dance, especially to tap-dance.

   He's been hoofing at the Palladium.

idioms

1. on the hoof, (of livestock) not butchered; live.

   The city youngsters were seeing lambs on the hoof for the first time.

hoof British  

/ huːf /

noun

1. 1. the horny covering of the end of the foot in the horse, deer, and all other ungulate mammals

   2. ( in combination )

      a hoofbeat

2. the foot of an ungulate mammal

3. a hoofed animal

4. facetious a person's foot

5. 1. (of livestock) alive

   2. in an impromptu manner

      he did his thinking on the hoof

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verb

1. (tr) to kick or trample with the hoofs

2. slang

   1. to walk

   2. to dance

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hoofiness
  noun
• hoofless
  adjective
• hooflike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hoof
  plural
• hoofs
  plural
• hooves
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of hoof

First recorded before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English hōf; cognate with Old Frisian hōf, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Old Norse hōfr; compare Sanskrit śaphas

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Explanation

A foot is to a human what a hoof is to a horse, a goat, or a giraffe. Each hoof protects the animal and helps it to walk and run. A hoof is made of keratin, just like your fingernails, but it tends to be thicker and harder since it has to bear the weight of the animal. Hoof can also be a verb that, surprisingly enough, applies to humans. Maybe you have offered someone a ride, only to be told, "No, I think I'll just hoof it," meaning walk or otherwise go on foot. Hoof is sometimes substituted for dance if the person doing it is getting paid.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hoof hoofs hooves

Each chapter surveys the hoof, trunk or some other segment of the conceptual elephant in more or less chronological progression and finishes with a brief summary of what readers ought to take away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The gruelling French farm tracks with their jagged cobblestones seem barely fit for a cow's hoof, let alone a Lycra-clad cyclists' thin tyre and ultra-light bike.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026

Foot-and-mouth causes fever and blisters near the hoof and in the mouth that prevent animals from feeding, as seen in the emaciated survivors.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

Aged gray tree hunks form arches, for instance, over bridges that tower over clay-colored paths with hoof prints.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026

Okay, check her feet with a hoof pick, to clear out the little rocks and stuff, you say.

From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander

She knows she can nail this role and she really hoofs it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025

“There are scenes with galloping horses in the film, and the sound of the hoofs will match the rhythm of the music,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2024

They’ve already had a decent penalty appeal turned down and now they had a free-kick right on the edge of the D. Tom Lawrence hoofs it straight into the wall.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 19, 2022

The side effects they dreaded were far more terrifying: blindness, deafness, ulcers, a gruesome skin condition called “cowpox mange” — even sprouting hoofs and horns.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 15, 2021

His horse’s hoofs, however, had no sooner clattered on the cobbles than she came flying from her tower room to welcome him with delight.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

The horses are characterised by their "large size, long legs, well-developed musculature, slender and elegant head -- set on a long, straight neck -- expressive eyes, high withers and sturdy hooves," he added.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

In Colorado, Kimberly Jones has grown her herd of goats from 25 to 250 in seven years, deploying their efficient teeth, hooves and stomachs to clear undergrowth to stem the spread of flames.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

Best among them is the picture of a woman who tugs on a goat’s hooves, the animal largely out of frame, struggling against its weight as she grips a blade between her teeth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

This city may be small, but in 1926 it became immortal, the place where a fiesta, thundering hooves, and a novel collided to shape modern legend.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025

We go for it at the same time, but lucky for me, hooves aren’t as fast as human feet.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

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