Meaning of wrong-foot | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To cause a competitor to move or put weight on the wrong foot, as by making an unexpected move.
2. To play the ball in an unexpected direction, forcing (the opponent) to change direction suddenly.
   transitive
3. To catch (someone) off balance, off guard; to surprise.
   broadly, transitive
4. To place (someone) at a tactical disadvantage.
   broadly, transitive

Examples

“Johnson hesitated with his back to goal and was dispossessed by Mulumbu, who instantly played Odemwingie through on goal. The Nigerian kept his composure to wrong-foot Reina.”

“The Swedish academy had defied bookies’ predictions and wrongfooted critics too many times in the past, and if there was one consensus in the run-up, it was that the prize would not go to Europe, where six of the last ten winners had come from.”

“He is cast as a master of brinkmanship who uses shock and chaos to wrongfoot opponents before settling, in the end, for more sober outcomes.”

CEFR level