footed
v.v. to pay for something, especially when the cost is high or you are paying for someone else. You use this when talking about bills or expenses.
v. to pay for a specific expense or bill, typically one that is considered large or unexpected. Often used in the fixed expression 'to foot the bill'.
My parents footed the bill for my university tuition.
The local government eventually footed the bill for the emergency repairs after the storm damaged the bridge.
While the corporation initially promised to cover all relocation costs, the employees found themselves footing the bill for several hidden fees that were not mentioned in the original contract.
From foot + -ed.
From Middle English foted, i-foted, equivalent to foot + -ed.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Transitive; almost exclusively used with 'the bill', 'the cost', or 'the tab' as a direct object.
he footed for the dinnerhe footed the bill for dinnerThe verb is transitive and requires a direct object like 'the bill'; it cannot be used with 'for' immediately after the verb.
Last updated May 6, 2026