Meaning of Footfall | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The sound made by a footstep; also, the footstep or step itself.
   countable
2. The number of pedestrians going into or passing through a place (especially a commercial venue such as a shop) during a specified time period; also, the pedestrians in a particular place regarded collectively; foot traffic.
   uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“[L]ike Hedg-hogs vvhich / Lye tumbling in my bare-foote vvay, and mount⟳ / Their pricks at my foot-fall: ſometime am I / All vvound vvith Adders, vvho vvith clouen tongues / Doe hiſſe me into madneſſe: […]”

“They are treading fast and thick. For weeks you could have⟳ heard a foot-fall.”

“At last⟳ I slid off into a light⟳ doze, and had pretty nearly made a good offing towards the land⟳ of Nod, when I heard a heavy footfall in the passage, and saw⟳ a glimmer of light⟳ come⟳ into the room from under the door.”

“He did not hear⟳ her approach⟳, her footfall was so light⟳; and it was with the same silent step she went into the room, and knelt down beside him, and put⟳ her hands and face⟳ on his knee, […]”

“I thought of going out for a ride⟳, and was about to get⟳ up when I heard a footfall on the steps behind. I looked back, but there was no one. As I sat down again, thinking it to be an illusion, I heard many footfalls, as if a large number⟳ of persons were rushing down the steps.”

“What might have⟳ been and what has been / Point⟳ to one end⟳, which is always present⟳. / Footfalls echo in the memory / Down the passage which we did not take⟳ / Towards the door we never opened / Into the rose-garden.”

“I cannot believe⟳ that he is gone. I expect⟳ him with every footfall I hear⟳ on the GCN stairs.”

“This stir⟳ of change⟳ and these perpetual echoes of the moving footfall, haunt the land⟳. Men move⟳ eternally, still chasing Fortune; and, fortune found, still wander⟳.”

“With high-street stores desperate to increase⟳ footfall and buck the financial downturn, retailers have⟳ started issuing discount vouchers.”

“John Betjeman enjoyed travelling on the line and said that, when he retired, he'd like⟳ to be the station master at Blake Hall, which was the stop⟳ before Ongar until it (Blake Hall) was closed permanently in 1981, its passenger footfall being down to six a day, or twelve, depending on whether you're counting passengers or feet.”

CEFR level