Hoof Meaning
/hʊf/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe tip of a toe of an ungulate such as a horse, ox or deer, strengthened by a thick keratin covering.
nounThe human foot.
Sentence Examples
I am so exhausted because I have padded the hoof for 4 hours.
The farrier fitted the shoe to the horse's hoof while the shoe was hot.
The goat playfully kicked a soccer ball with its hoof.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The horse's ____ made a loud sound on the hard road.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The horse struck the hard ground with its ____ as it galloped across the open field.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós Proto-Germanic *hōfaz Proto-West Germanic *hōf Old English hōf Middle English hof English hoof Inherited from Middle English hof, houf, houve, hove, from Old English hōf, from Proto-Germanic *hōfaz (compare West Frisian hoef, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Danish hov, Norwegian hov, Swedish hov), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós (compare Sanskrit शफ (śaphá, “hoof, claw”), Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬟𐬀 (safa, “hoof”), possibly Czech, Polish kopyto).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[…] I ſee
Th’ Inſulting Tyrant prancing o’er the Field
Strow’d with Rome’s Citizens, and drench’d in Slaughter,
His Horſe’s Hoofs wet with Patrician Blood."
— 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:
"He is a huge man, six feet four on bare hoofs and composed of two hundred and seventy pounds of solid bone and muscle."
— 1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 110:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The horse's ____ made a loud sound on the hard road.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The horse struck the hard ground with its ____ as it galloped across the open field.