Dictionary

front-foot en · ADJ

Etymology

From the phrase on the front foot.

Meanings

1. On the front foot; acting so as to take control of a situation.
   • Front foot thinking is about 'being in place', taking the initiative and being proactive, rather than being caught on the back foot, reactive, defensive and uncertain. 2015, Christopher Johns, Mindful Leadership: A Guide for the Health Care Professions:
   • Chelsea needed to be defensively perfect but this was no smash-and-grab result. It was a front-foot display to take the initiative away from City in the first half. 2021 May 29, Phil McNulty, “Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:
2. (attributive, not-comparable) Based on the width of the front of a property.
   • There are, of course, excellent examples of extensions to existing systems being carried out on the front-foot assessment plan, but this procedure is distinctly different from the programs herein outlined as applied to newly created systems of large size. 1927, Journal of the New England Water Works Association, page 442:

Forms