wrong-foot
verb
wrong-footed; wrong-footing; wrong-foots
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
Anthony Lloyd Examples of wrong-foot in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Here, West Ham’s forward initially dribbles inside and his multiple-touch approach wrong-foots Osho.
—Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 9 July 2025
Castle, in fact, has become one of the league’s heaviest practitioners of the Euro stop, routinely pausing mid-move to wrong-foot defenders.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
Inflation, for one, quickened more than anticipated in May, with a gauge of underlying trends also wrong-footing analysts by edging higher.
—Rachel Ventresca, Fortune Europe, 6 June 2024
But Weinberger then wrong-foots the reader with a final, fifth section, one detailing the contents of a box at the British Library, the fragmentary remains, on a birchbark scroll, of the oldest extant Buddhist text, unearthed near the Khyber Pass.
—Wyatt Mason, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
The French superstar sprung free down the left with a ball over the top before wrong-footing Alejandro Remiro in goal.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024
The face is more graven these days, but the gnashing grin and the wry tone of his delivery are unchanged, as is Dafoe’s knack for wrong-footing us; his wicked characters are as hard to dislike as his virtuous ones are to trust.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2023
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Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 9 July 2025
Castle, in fact, has become one of the league’s heaviest practitioners of the Euro stop, routinely pausing mid-move to wrong-foot defenders.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
Inflation, for one, quickened more than anticipated in May, with a gauge of underlying trends also wrong-footing analysts by edging higher.
—Rachel Ventresca, Fortune Europe, 6 June 2024
But Weinberger then wrong-foots the reader with a final, fifth section, one detailing the contents of a box at the British Library, the fragmentary remains, on a birchbark scroll, of the oldest extant Buddhist text, unearthed near the Khyber Pass.
—Wyatt Mason, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
The French superstar sprung free down the left with a ball over the top before wrong-footing Alejandro Remiro in goal.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024
The face is more graven these days, but the gnashing grin and the wry tone of his delivery are unchanged, as is Dafoe’s knack for wrong-footing us; his wicked characters are as hard to dislike as his virtuous ones are to trust.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Wrong-foot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wrong-foot. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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