Meaning & use
flat-footed
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableinformalfigurative
Unprepared for something and unable to react quickly or well when it happens.
Grammar: Often follows caught or found: the team was caught flat-footed.
Patterns
- be caught flat-footed
- be found flat-footed by something
The sudden rule change caught the whole department flat-footed.
Rivals were left flat-footed when the company launched its cheaper model.
I felt flat-footed when the reporter asked about the leak.
adjectivecomparablemedical
Having feet whose arches are low or collapsed, so that the soles touch the ground along their whole length.
Grammar: Describes a person, usually before a noun or after be: a flat-footed walker.
The doctor said his flat-footed stance was causing knee pain.
She is flat-footed, so she needs shoes with extra support.
A flat-footed runner may tire sooner on long routes.
adverbnot comparable
With the whole sole of the foot on the ground, or in a way that shows no readiness or skill.
Grammar: Follows a verb: he landed flat-footed.
The defender stood flat-footed while the striker sprinted past.
He landed flat-footed and winced.
The candidate answered flat-footed and lost the crowd.
Word forms
| comparative | more flat-footed |
|---|---|
| superlative | most flat-footed |
Common combinations
- caught flat-footed
- Regulators were caught flat-footed by the sudden crash.
- leave someone flat-footed
- The surprise offer left the negotiators flat-footed.
- a flat-footed response
- The mayor's flat-footed response angered residents.
- stand flat-footed
- The goalkeeper stood flat-footed as the ball sailed in.
- seem flat-footed
- The firm seemed flat-footed when customers moved online.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unprepared
- Unprepared is plain and neutral, whereas flat-footed adds the picture of being caught off balance at a specific moment.
- off guard
- Off guard is a phrase usually used after caught, and it stresses surprise more than the slow, clumsy reaction flat-footed suggests.
- clumsy
- Clumsy describes general lack of grace, while flat-footed is tied to being slow to respond to something unexpected.
- wrong-footed
- Wrong-footed implies someone deliberately or skillfully unbalanced you, whereas flat-footed only says you were unready.
Opposites
Word family
- flatfoot noun
- the condition of having low arches; also old slang for a police officer
- flat-footedly adverb
- in a clumsy or unprepared way
- flat-footedness noun
- the state of being unprepared or having low arches
Commonly confused: flat-footed or flat feet?
flat-footed vs flat feet
Flat feet is the plural noun for the condition itself; flat-footed is the adjective, and it also has the figurative meaning of unprepared.
Practice
Which sentence uses flat-footed in its figurative sense?
Choose one answer.
Caught flat-footed means unprepared when something unexpected happens. The other options either refer to the foot shape or misuse the word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flat-footed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.