Thesaurus results for FOOTHOLDS

footholds

noun

plural of foothold

as in bases

a place from which an advance (as for military operations) is made don't let the opposing team push us back down the field and gain a foothold

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of footholds The struggle for literacy, for safety, for economic footholds — these are not sepia-toned memories. —

Jack Hill, Baltimore Sun, 26 Feb. 2026 In the later stage of the challenge, tribes were tasked with finding a way to climb a steep ramp with no footholds to reach a puzzle platform. —

Keisha Rowe, Louisville Courier Journal, 26 Feb. 2026 Dan could see no footholds ex‑ cept a crystal shaped like a domino pasted onto the rock. —

Literary Hub, 20 Jan. 2026 Apart from its soft-power flexes, China has become a leading arms supplier to the region while establishing footholds for its military, such as the Espacio Lejano Space Station, an advanced radar system China operates in the Patagonian desert under a 50-year lease from the government of Argentina. —

Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2026 Corporate landlords and investment firms own less than 5% of the nation’s 87 million homes, according to BatchData, though that fraction is growing and obscures bigger footholds in local markets. —

Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 13 Jan. 2026 The magnitude of the action stretches from Venezuela to China, Russia and Iran, all of which seek footholds in Venezuela, threatening stability for American and democratic interests. —

John Brummett, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026 Create footholds for bats to roost. —

Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025 Despite a bloody war fought between the two neighbors from 1980 to 1988, Baghdad remains one of Tehran's few remaining footholds in the region. —

Emma Graham, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for footholds

Noun

There have been whispers of paramilitary training camps in the mountains, but the sinister presence mostly lingered just below the surface.

— Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Expect everything—including the rustic beach camps, fresh ocean-to-plate fish, and the ferry ride from the mainland to Bubaque—to take its sweet time here.

— Melanie van Zyl, Travel + Leisure, 6 Mar. 2026