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Glite Dictionary
🤝 Relationship status 🦶 Stable position 🏗️ Building base
footing

footing

26 4.1
A steady place to put your foot so you do not fall
  • noun
  • /ˈfʊtɪŋ/
translation icon : apoyo
  • As the climber approached the steep ledge, he focused carefully on his footing to avoid slipping.
  • a firm footing
  • find my footing
  • regain my footing

I didn't just trip and like stumble and like find my footing.

Examples

  • Don't lose your footing.

    The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

  • But last night Sir Ian was performing in a play in London when he lost his footing and fell off the stage.

  • I missed my footing and I fell from some distance high.

  • Find your footing one step at a time.

    Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

  • I found the same kind of footing I had as a child.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Keep the pace and watch your footing.

    Only the Brave (2017)

  • Watch your footing on the gangway.

    Unconquered (1947)

  • Near the bottom, I had to concentrate on my footing as the ledges became narrower and less secure.

    Academic text (2009)

  • At that moment, Annabelle loses her footing on the trail and lurches forward.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Arms pumping, she threw herself down the slope, praying that the footing wouldn't betray her.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

foothold
vsfooting
6 3.6

A place where you can put your foot securely when standing or climbing

is the general word for a secure position giving stability when standing or climbing
toehold
vsfooting
1 6.9

A small ledge where a toe can rest to help you climb

is a broader secure position that supports balance or movement

Antonyms

instability
114 5.1

A situation that changes easily and can fail, for example in politics

unsteadiness
1 5.1

A lack of balance or firm control that causes shaking

How Secure

footing
26 4.1

Surface Forms

footing singular
footings plural

Morphology

footing = foot (transparent) = foot + ing

This sense is directly formed from 'foot' with a noun-forming '-ing' that refers to a place or condition for placing the foot.

Etymology

Footing comes from the simple word foot, which means 'the part at the end of your leg'. It originally meant the way your foot stood, so a 'secure footing' is a steady place that keeps you balanced.