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

If the Allies risked it anyway, but the skies did not clear enough for airborne troops to make their jumps or for Allied warplanes to protect the beachheads, an onrush of German tanks could crush the toeholds on French sand. —The Editors, National Review, 6 June 2024

Here in Normandy, the thousands who died as the allies secured a toehold in Europe are everywhere, their black-and-white photographs attached to wooden utility poles on the Road of the First (American) Division that leads from Colleville-sur-Mer down to Omaha Beach. —Roger Cohen Laetitia Vancon, New York Times, 6 June 2024

Indeed, both the paramilitary group and the armed forces have been accused of recruiting Islamist fighters, fueling fears that the civil war will – regardless of the victor – prove a toehold for extremist groups. —Sara Harmouch, The Conversation, 10 May 2024

In the north, Russian forces are trying to approach Kupiansk, which could act as a toehold in the Kharkiv region. —Dara Massicot, Foreign Affairs, 8 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

toehold

noun

toe·​hold ˈtō-ˌhōld 

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