feet

feet
 , foot
 An occasional error is seen here: "Accompanied by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the president also stopped at the 275-feet-high General Sherman Tree, a sequoia thought to be one of the largest living things on Earth." When one noun qualifies another, the first is normally singular. That is why we talk about toothbrushes rather than teethbrushes and horse races rather than horses races. Exceptions can be found - systems analyst, singles bar - but usually these appear only when the normal form would produce ambiguity. When a noun is not being made to function as an adjective, the plural is the usual form. Thus a wall that is six feet high is a six-foot-high wall. (For a discussion of the punctuation distinction, see hyphen in the Appendix.)

Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors. 2013.

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  • feet — /feet/, n. 1. a pl. of foot. 2. drag one s feet, to act or proceed slowly or without enthusiasm; to be reluctant to act, comply, etc.: We can t begin the project until the steering committee stops dragging its feet. 3. on one s feet, a. in a… …   Universalium

  • feet — [fēt] n. pl. of FOOT feet of clay a weakness or defect of character (in an otherwise strong person) get one s feet wet to have or get one s first experience in some activity or pursuit have one s feet on the ground to be practical, realistic, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Feet — 〈[ fi:t] Pl. von〉 Foot [engl.] * * * Feet : Pl. von ↑ Foot. * * * Feet   [fiːt, englisch], Plural von Foot.   * * * Feet: Pl. von ↑ …   Universal-Lexikon

  • feet — [fi:t] n the plural of ↑foot →get/have cold feet at ↑cold1 (6), feet of clay at ↑foot1 (26), have itchy feet at ↑itchy …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • feet — [fiːt] ➔ foot1 * * * feet UK US /fiːt/ noun ► PLURAL OF FOOT(Cf. ↑foot) …   Financial and business terms

  • Feet — Feet, n. pl. See {Foot}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Feet — Feet, n. [See {Feat}, n.] Fact; performance. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • feet — feet·age; feet; …   English syllables

  • Feet — (engl., spr. fiht), Mehrzahl von Foot (s.d.) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Feet — A global dance party est une compilation sortie en 2004 et produite par le label Ellipsis arts. Cette compilation, mélange de world music et de trip hop, reprend des groupes allant de Cuba au Sénégal, en passant par le Brésil et le Maghreb.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Feet — 〈 [fi:t] Pl. von〉 Foot [Etym.: engl.] …   Lexikalische Deutsches Wörterbuch

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