wrong-foot

verb

ˈrȯŋ-ˌfu̇t 

wrong-footed; wrong-footing; wrong-foots

transitive verb

chiefly British

: to cause (someone, such as an opponent in soccer or tennis) to lean into or step with the wrong foot

broadly : to disrupt the equilibrium of

… a speed and flexibility that repeatedly wrong-footed his enemies.

—Anthony Lloyd

Examples of wrong-foot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Brunson, as usual, was sublime, wrong-footing the 76ers over and over with his staccato moves and magnetized shots. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 10 May 2026

Running on to a Bernardo Silva pass, Cherki shapes to cross the ball with his right foot, chops back onto his left and then transfers it to his right again, wrong-footing Alderete (that’s being polite). — Stuart James, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2026

Investors wary of being wrong-footed by twists and turns in the Iran war are trading stocks at a record intensity, one market measure shows. — Joel Leon, Bloomberg, 7 Apr. 2026

Determined to wrong-foot her handler, Zosia (Karolina Wydra), Carol asks for a grenade and receives one, to explosive effect. — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 28 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wrong-foot

• afoot
• barefoot
• bigfoot
• blackfoot
• caput
• clubfoot
• cocksfoot
• crowfoot
• forefoot
• input
• output
• rajput