Meaning

3 senses

  1. (Canada, US)An inexperienced person; a novice.

    an inexperienced person (especially someone inexperienced in outdoor living)

  2. (historical)A newcomer or arriviste to the region in the American frontier (Old West and Wild West).

  3. (dated)A Boy Scout of the lowest rank.

Translations

3 languages

Origin

From tender + foot. Refers to the delicate feet of newcomers to ranching or mining areas.

From tender + foot. Refers to the delicate feet of newcomers to ranching or mining areas. First attested 1866.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: tenderfeet / tenderfoots
Singulartenderfoot
Pluraltenderfeet / tenderfoots

regular

Synonyms

59 synonyms
apprenticeC1amateurC1beginnerA2bunB2freshmanB1learnerA2neophyteC2newcomerB1recruitB2strangerA2traineeB2abecedarianalphabetariancolt

Word family

6 related words
Relatedtenderfootedcheechakogreenhornnewbie
Derivedtenderfootishtenderfootism

Lessons for this word

1 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
tenderB2tenderlointenderlyB2tendernessB2tendon
tenderfoot — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto