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Glite Dictionary
to put one's best foot forward

to put one's best foot forward

4 6.2
Make a very good impression when you meet someone or start something new
  • idiom
translation icon : dar lo mejor de uno mismo
  • Through cover letter, resume, headshot, song, and monologue review, we can help you make sure you are putting your best foot forward.
  • always put your best foot forward

Examples

  • I tried to put my best foot forward and do the best I could to encourage her to be part of this marriage.

    Blog text (19)

  • And knowing that going into it and putting your best foot forward helps everyone.

    Blog text (4)

  • I so want to put my best foot forward with you.

    Wicked Stepmother (1989)

  • If he was going to put his best foot forward, it should be wearing better shoes.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • How do you put your best foot forward?

    Fiction book (1998)

  • While you should put your best foot forward, I think the best approach is to be honest about who you are.

    Blog text (33)

  • As representatives of the host school, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward.

    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

  • Remember that the first time you meet someone new, you need to put your best foot forward and make a good impression.

    Blog text (17)

  • You only get one chance to put your best foot forward; don't blow it with substandard work.

    Academic text (2010)

  • As the new team leader, she decided to put her best foot forward during her first presentation.

Synonyms

to go out of one's way
vsto put one's best foot forward
  • Informal
53 3.5

Make a special effort to do something, often to help someone

is mainly about exerting effort to impress at beginnings rather than helping others
to put one's shoulder to the wheel
vsto put one's best foot forward
  • Informal
2 7.5

To start working very hard to reach a goal

focuses on effort to impress at the start rather than steady long work
to do one's best
vsto put one's best foot forward
1 2.5

To try as hard as you can to do something well

aims effort at making a strong first impression to succeed
to show oneself in the right light
vsto put one's best foot forward
7.2

Make yourself look good to other people

puts strong effort into impressing others at the start of something

Antonyms

to give up
∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

to slack off
  • Informal
3 3.9

To become less strong or busy

How Impressive

to dazzle
63 4.1
to put one's best foot forward
4 6.2
to try
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

put one's best foot forward infinitive
put one's best foot forward past
put one's best foot forward past participle
putting one's best foot forward present participle
puts one's best foot forward third person singular

Morphology

put + one's + best + foot + forward

The literal parts ('put' + 'best' + 'foot' + 'forward') cue a metaphor of presenting one's best stance or side, so a learner who knows the words can often infer it means to try to make a good impression. However, the mapping from 'best foot forward' to the specific pragmatic meaning of behaving strategically to impress is partly conventionalized and idiomatic, so the full sense is not entirely predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Put one's best foot forward may come from old dancing and walking ways; people would put their best foot forward — the neatest, most confident step — when meeting someone or starting a dance. So it now means 'to try to make a very good impression'.