Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🐾 Toe-walking animal 🐾 Walking on toes
digitigrade

digitigrade

9.9
Walking on the toes with the heel raised, like a dog or horse
  • adjective
  • /ˈdɪdʒɪtəˌɡreɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : digitígrado
  • Unlike humans, who are plantigrade, horses are digitigrade mammals.

Examples

  • Dogs have a digitigrade gait, which contributes to their speed and agility.

  • Most cats are digitigrade animals, moving silently on their toes.

  • The digitigrade stance of cats allows them to move silently.

  • Dogs are digitigrade animals, making them agile runners.

  • Cats and dogs are known as digitigrade animals because they walk on their toes.

  • The digitigrade posture of horses allows them to run swiftly across various terrains.

  • Many digitigrade mammals have a unique foot structure that enhances their agility.

Antonyms

plantigrade
  • Specialized
9.9

Walking with the whole sole of the foot on the ground

Compounds

digitigrade mammal
  • Specialized
8.2

A mammal that walks on its toes, like a dog or cat

How Much Foot

plantigrade
  • Specialized
9.9
digitigrade
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

digitigrade positive

Morphology

digitigrade = digit (semi-transparent) = digit + grade

The adjective is formed from 'digit' + the combining element '-grade'; the combining form is technical and may be unfamiliar to general learners.

Etymology

Digitigrade comes from the parts digit- 'toe', as in digit, and -grade 'step', so it describes animals that walk 'on their toes' rather than on the whole foot.