Plural of Foot

search our site by Craig Shrives

The Plural of Foot

The plural of "foot" is "feet."

• A doctor who specializes in the treatment of the feet is called a podiatrist.
• In pre 19th century China, bound feet were considered a mark of beauty.

Some words do not form their plurals by adding 's' to the end but by changing their forms (e.g., man becomes men, goose becomes geese, mouse becomes mice).

Are You Good at Plurals?

Here's a quick test.

Getting ready...

The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals

The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.

Type	Example of Type	Forming the Plural	Plural
Most Nouns	cat scythe	add s	cats scythes
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z	bus dress	add es	buses dresses
Nouns ending [consonant] o	mango zero tomato	add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.)	mangoes or mangos zeros tomatoes
Nouns ending [vowel] o	patio ratio	add s	patios ratios
Nouns ending [consonant] y	story penny	change the y to an i and add es	stories pennies
Nouns ending [vowel] y	storey () donkey	add s	storeys donkeys
Nouns ending f or fe	dwarf knife	ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.)	dwarfs knives
Exceptions	foot louse	some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change	feet lice
More exceptions	salmon sheep	some nouns do not change at all	salmon sheep

Read more about English spelling rules.

Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of Foot?

There is confusion because the plural of "foot" is not formed by adding 's' but by changing its central vowel. Several other words form their plurals in this way. There is no rule to remember them. They have to be memorized.

Ready for the Test?