toehold

noun

toe·​hold ˈtō-ˌhōld 

1

a

: a hold or place of support for the toes (as in climbing)

b(1)

: a means of progressing (as in surmounting barriers)

(2)

: a slight footing

used his money to get a toehold, then a foothold, then a near stranglehold on the political economy

—R. W. Armstrong

2

: an illegal wrestling hold in which the aggressor bends or twists the other wrestler's foot

Examples of toehold in a Sentence

American companies looking for toeholds in foreign markets.

Recent Examples on the Web

What this means for the United States is that countries covertly or openly opposed to the maintenance and expansion of U.S. influence—whether globally or within its own hemisphere—are gaining more than a toehold. —Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2017

The Allied forces were able to gain a toehold in France that ultimately enabled them to liberate that country and march toward Germany. —Medianews Group, Hartford Courant, 4 June 2025

High atop a particularly craggy one, the rainfall gets a toehold beneath soil clinging to a very steep and slightly concave slope of rock. —Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 19 May 2025

But tech experts remain skeptical of whether Microsoft can seriously expand its toehold in the smartphone market. —IEEE Spectrum, 5 Sep. 2013

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for toehold

• ahold
• behold
• billfold
• blindfold
• cajoled
• consoled
• controlled
• cotswold
• eightfold
• enfold
• enrolled
• extolled

Kids Definition

toehold

noun

toe·​hold ˈtō-ˌhōld 

: a hold or support for the toes (as in climbing)