footsie

noun

foot·​sie ˈfu̇t-sē How to pronounce footsie (audio)
variants or footsy
1
: a furtive flirtatious caressing with the feet (as under a table)
2
: a usually surreptitious cooperation or negotiation with someone supposed hostile to one's own interests
usually used with play

Examples of footsie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The result is a frenzied game of footsie that can produce suboptimal deals, or none at all, but ties everyone in knots for a while. Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 24 July 2025 This means that those footsies won’t develop the malodorous aroma that haunts the bottoms of sleeping bags on long overnighters, even when worn for a few days in a row. Meg Carney, Field & Stream, 4 Jan. 2024 Instead of rejecting these forces, too many members of today’s Republican Party play footsie with them – or flat-out embrace their rhetoric and ideas. Jill Filipovic, CNN, 17 Jan. 2023 When the two single moms brought them together for family dinners, Devi and Des were condemned to playing footsie for the evening and hiding their relationship. Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 24 Aug. 2022 See All Example Sentences for footsie

Word History

Etymology

diminutive of foot entry 1

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of footsie was in 1944

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Footsie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/footsie. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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