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on one's toes

toe
O o

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [toh]
    • /toʊ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [toh]
    • /toʊ/

Definitions of on one's toes words

  • noun on one's toes one of the terminal digits of the human foot. 1
  • noun on one's toes an analogous part in certain animals. 1
  • noun on one's toes the forepart of the foot or hoof of a horse or the like. 1
  • noun on one's toes the forepart of anything worn on the foot, as of a shoe or stocking. 1
  • noun on one's toes a part resembling a toe in shape or position. 1
  • noun on one's toes Railroads. the end of a frog in front of the point and in the direction of the switch. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of on one's toes

First appearance:

before 900
One of the 4% oldest English words
before 900; Middle English; Old English tā; cognate with Dutch teen, German Zehe, Old Norse tā

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for On one's toes

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

on one's toes popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 93% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

Synonyms for on one's toes

adj on one's toes

  • advertent — paying attention; heedful
  • alive to — fully aware of; perceiving
  • all ears — If someone says that they are all ears, they mean that they are ready and eager to listen.
  • attentive — If you are attentive, you are paying close attention to what is being said or done.

adjective on one's toes

  • alert — If you are alert, you are paying full attention to things around you and are able to deal with anything that might happen.
  • comprehending — to understand the nature or meaning of; grasp with the mind; perceive: He did not comprehend the significance of the ambassador's remark.
  • concentrating — Present participle of concentrate.
  • contemplating — to think studiously; meditate; consider deliberately.
  • deducing — Present participle of deduce.

adverb on one's toes

  • alive — If people or animals are alive, they are not dead.
  • awake — Someone who is awake is not sleeping.
  • careful — If you are careful, you give serious attention to what you are doing, in order to avoid harm, damage, or mistakes. If you are careful to do something, you make sure that you do it.
  • cautious — Someone who is cautious acts very carefully in order to avoid possible danger.
  • defensive — You use defensive to describe things that are intended to protect someone or something.

Antonyms for on one's toes

adjective on one's toes

  • disregarding — to pay no attention to; leave out of consideration; ignore: Disregard the footnotes.
  • neglecting — to pay no attention or too little attention to; disregard or slight: The public neglected his genius for many years.

See also

Matching words

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