Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

on the back foot

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.84 in modern English

Syllables: on the back- -foot
IPA

27

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

Having the weight on the back foot in order to play a defensive stroke

prep_phrase

in a defensive posture; on the defensive; off balance; at a disadvantage.

Example Sentences

"Lawson wasn't going to be put on the back foot by Brian Duff. "I don't know what you're on about. But I've kept my nose clean for over twenty years."
"Now I was the one on the back foot. He liked me. "Really?" "I'd like to take you out when we're back in LA""
"She was on the back foot now. I had taken the initiative good and proper."
"Thitinan said Yingluck's decision to skip the verdict hearing will have "emboldened" the military government. "They would not have wanted to put her in jail, in this scenario, (but her not showing up today) puts her on the back foot and gives them an edge.""
"HS2 Ltd is presumably on the back foot in its relations with Government, because of its cost increases."

Inflected Forms

on the back footing (alternative)

Phrases

wrong-foot

Frequently Paired Words

backfoot wrong-foot

Antonyms

on the front foot

Questions

What does on the back foot mean?: Having the weight on the back foot in order to play a defensive stroke

How to pronounce on the back foot

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