Toe definition
An example of a toe is the body part on which the nail is painted during a pedicure.
- The part of the head of a golf club farthest from the shaft.
- The part of a vertical shaft that turns in a bearing.
- The lowest part of an embankment or dam.
- (geology) A protruding downslope end of an alluvial fan, glacier, or lava flow.
He toes out.
- A pivot or journal extending vertically in a bearing.
- A projecting arm raised or moved by a cam.
To toe a starting line.
To toe in or toe out.
Hallux, big toe, great toe.
Second toe, long toe.
Third toe, middle toe.
Fourth toe, ring toe.
Fifth toe, little toe, pinky toe, baby toe.
To toe the mark.
The framers toed the irregular pieces into the sill.
- Ready to act; alert.
- To hurt, offend, or encroach on the feelings, actions, or province of.
- To adhere to doctrines or rules conscientiously; conform.
- To touch a mark or line with the toe or hands in readiness for the start of a race or competition.
- mentally or physically alert
- to offend someone, esp. by trespassing or intruding on prerogatives or rights
- to stand or crouch with the toes touching the starting line of a race, etc.
- to follow orders, rules, doctrines, etc. strictly
Other Word Forms
Noun
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of toe
- Middle English from Old English tā deik- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Middle English to, from Old English tā, (Mercian) tāhe, from Proto-Germanic *taihwÇ (compare Dutch teen, German Zehe, Swedish tÃ¥), from Proto-Germanic *tÄ«hwanÄ… (“to show, announce") (compare Old English teōn (“to accuse"), German zeihen (“id.")), from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show") (compare Hittite [script?] (tekkuššāi), Latin dÄ«cere (“to say"), digitus (“finger"), Albanian thua (“nail"), accusative thoi, Ancient Greek δείκνυμι (deiknumi, “to point out, show"), Sanskrit [script?] (dídeṣṭi), दिशति (diśáti)).
From Wiktionary