barefoot
/ˈbɛɹfʊt/adjective, adverb
barefoot is spelled B-A-R-E-F-O-O-T: 8 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, barefoot means “Wearing nothing on the feet” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in barefoot?
| Letters | 8: B-A-R-E-F-O-O-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is barefoot?
Barefoot appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce barefoot?
- US /ˈbɛɹfʊt/
- UK /ˈbɛəfʊt/
- /ˈbɑːɹfʊt/
Barefoot has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-barefoot.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does barefoot mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Wearing nothing on the feet.
After taking off their shoes, socks and sandals at the doorway, the kids were barefoot.
- 2
informalOf a vehicle on an icy road: not using snow chains.
- 3
slangTransmitting without the use of an amplifier.
adverb
- 1
Wearing nothing on the feet.
She likes to go barefoot in the summertime.
- 2
Transmitting without the use of an amplifier.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Barefoot in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense wearing nothing on the feet:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pieds nus |
| German | barfuß, barfüßig |
| Portuguese | descalço, descalça |
| Spanish | descalzo, chuña, a pies pelados, shutudo (Americanism), patalsuelo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does barefoot come from?
From Middle English barefote, barfot, from Old English bærfōt (“barefoot”), from Proto-West Germanic *baʀafōt, from Proto-Germanic *bazafōts (“barefoot”) equivalent to bare + foot. Cognate with Scots barefit (“barefoot”), Old Frisian berfōt ("barefoot"; modern Saterland Frisian boarfouts (“barefoot”, adverb)), Dutch barrevoets (“barefoot”, adverb), German barfuß (“barefoot”), Danish barfodet (“barefoot”), Swedish barfota (“barefoot”, adverb), Icelandic berfættur (“barefoot”), Yiddish באָרוועס (borves, “barefoot”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).