toehold

noun

toe·​hold ˈtō-ˌhōld 

1

a

: a hold or place of support for the toes (as in climbing)

b(1)

: a means of progressing (as in surmounting barriers)

(2)

: a slight footing

used his money to get a toehold, then a foothold, then a near stranglehold on the political economy

—R. W. Armstrong

2

: an illegal wrestling hold in which the aggressor bends or twists the other wrestler's foot

Examples of toehold in a Sentence

American companies looking for toeholds in foreign markets.

Recent Examples on the Web

Lakes as small as Last Chance and Goodenough, both little more than shallow ponds, could at best have offered early life a toehold before their phosphates would have been depleted. —Byrobert F. Service, science.org, 24 Feb. 2025

Given the challenges coming from Beijing, justices said Washington was within its power to deny it one of its strongest toeholds out of concern that it could be used to surveil Americans, steal their secrets, and feed them a stream of propaganda useful to China’s big-picture goals. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025

But there will be some examples of pro-Trump media getting a toehold outside of Fox News. —Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2025

Moreover, 11 of these small countries were members of the European Union, so China could gain a toehold in the world’s largest trading bloc without having to compete directly with western Europe’s advanced economies. —Ian Johnson, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for toehold

• ahold
• behold
• billfold
• blindfold
• cajoled
• consoled
• controlled
• cotswold
• eightfold
• enfold
• enrolled
• extolled

Kids Definition

toehold

noun

toe·​hold ˈtō-ˌhōld 

: a hold or support for the toes (as in climbing)