afoot C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process Also spelled a-foot US /əˈfʊt/ UK /əˈfʊt/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adv in the process of happening or being planned There was clearly some mischief afoot in the quiet office. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adv · in the process of happening... underwayastirbrewingdevelopingongoinghappeningstirring ↔ Opposites dormantinactivequiescent Word family Related forms footfooting Etymology AI details From Middle English afote, from Old English on fot ('on foot'), from a- ('on') + fot ('foot'), from Proto-Germanic *fots, from Proto-Indo-European *pods ('foot'). fot Middle English *pṓds Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Cause, Change & Process External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # afoot **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adv **IPA (US):** /əˈfʊt/ **IPA (UK):** /əˈfʊt/ ## Meanings 1. in the process of happening or being planned ## Examples - There was clearly some mischief afoot in the quiet office. ## Synonyms - underway - astir - brewing - developing - ongoing - happening - stirring ## Antonyms - dormant - inactive - quiescent ## Related Forms - foot - footing ## Roots and Affixes - Root: fot - Root: *pṓds ## Etymology From Middle English afote, from Old English on fot ('on foot'), from a- ('on') + fot ('foot'), from Proto-Germanic *fots, from Proto-Indo-European *pods ('foot'). ## AI Etymology Afoot is from Middle English afote, from Old English on fot ('on foot'), from a- ('on') + fot ('foot'), from Proto-Germanic *fots, from Proto-Indo-European *pods ('foot'). Important recorded forms include fot (Old English) and *pṓds (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers in the process of happening or being planned. The wider family includes related words such as foot and footing. ## Topics - Cause, Change & Process markdown