toehold

noun

toe·​hold ˈtō-ˌhōld How to pronounce toehold (audio)
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 economyR. 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 Small business has always been a toehold for immigrant populations in New York. Emmett Lindner, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2024 Now, many Americans whose only toehold in markets are their retirement accounts are getting in on the good times, too. Brian Cheung, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024 Other companies that boasted significant fundraising rounds in the second half of last year included Sierra Space, a spacecraft manufacturer with a toehold in the commercial space station market, and Galactic Energy, a Chinese startup launch company. Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 17 Jan. 2024 While Poland’s massive state-media system has been a political spoil for election winners, Law and Justice tried to preserve a toehold by legally transferring the system’s governance to a new body that was more insulated from parliamentary interference. Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 31 Jan. 2024 Both breaches also involved compromising a single device on each corporate network, then escalating that toehold to the network itself. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024 But as Republicans continue to struggle to manage the slender House majority that represents their toehold of power in Congress, the episode was a revealing one about both Greene, who has become a key ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the anti-establishment right with which she’s diverged. Molly Ball, Time, 18 July 2023 The idea has also gained a toehold at the World Bank and other international lending institutions, which are currently financing a road-building boom that promises to reshape ecosystems and communities around the world. WIRED, 23 Dec. 2023 Ukraine does not publicly disclose its number of military casualties and has declined to specify how many marines have been killed in the mission, which seized back just a few square kilometers of land, including a toehold in the fishing village of Krynky. Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 4 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'toehold.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of toehold was in 1880

Dictionary Entries Near toehold

Cite this Entry

“Toehold.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toehold. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

toehold

noun
toe·​hold ˈtō-ˌhōld How to pronounce toehold (audio)
: a hold or support for the toes (as in climbing)

More from Merriam-Webster on toehold

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