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

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

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

They could play to keep the score down, pack the midfield, hoof everything downfield and never venture a shot on Brazil's goal and still make it through.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 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

Black cars filled with political leaders and CEOs who didn’t want to hoof it on foot clogged up the town’s two-lane main streets, where the typical year-round population is around 11,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

The tips of each of the three hind toes were enclosed in a wedge-shaped hoof with a flat underside, similar to that of a horse.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025

Before he put the pony in the trailer, Nancy showed him the paint marking on Buttons's hoof.

From "Pony Problems: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #3" by Carolyn Keene

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

From the top of the shoulders to their hoofs, the early horses averaged less than 4 feet 10.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 14, 2022

Then we heard the jingling of harnesses and the fast clopping of horses’ hoofs.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

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

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

From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025

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

Villagers have awoken to a replica pony standing tall in place of a bronze metal statue which was cut down to its hooves last summer.

From BBC ● May 30, 2025

I glance down at the water, certain that the hooves of the two thousand wild horses galloping through my chest are making ripples in the water.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

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