hoof

American  

[hoof, hoof] / hʊf, huf /

noun

plural

hoofs, hooves, hoof

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

• hoofiness noun
• hoofless adjective
• hooflike adjective

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

Example Sentences

If the clomping hooves from the first horseman’s approaching steed got too loud, we’d just turn the music up.

From Salon

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

Cloven hooves had pressed into the soft mud.

From Los Angeles Times

He tried teaching over Zoom and did private lessons, wearing a face mask and hoofing it to as many as 16 homes a day.

From Los Angeles Times

Their reconstruction reveals a tall crest running along the neck and torso, a row of spikes down the tail, and hooves that enclosed the toes.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• paw