surefooted
adjEtymology From sure + footed.
1
Walking steadily, without stumbling; capable of finding good footing.
- The mules of Piedmont are exceeding strong and hardy. […] They are the only carriage that can be used in crossing the mountains, being very sure-footed: and it is observed that in choosing their steps, they always march upon the brink of the precipice.1766, Tobias Smollett, Travels through France and Italy, Letter XX:
- For many years I didn't learn to walk, because I was carried everywhere—not by my parents, who had grown frail, but by the most sure-footed of the servants.1997, Emma Donoghue, “The Tale of the Needle”, in Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins, New York: HarperCollins, page 169:
1 more example
- Testers reported the locomotive as very surefooted and said it did not lose traction.2024 June 12, Pip Dunn, “Network News: Class 93 tri-mode completes first UK main line tests”, in RAIL, number 1011, page 6:
2
Confident and capable.
- Her performance was described as "stunning, surefooted, breathtaking."2015, Rosemary Sullivan, Stalin's Daughter, →ISBN, page 320:
- Derived terms
- surefootedly, surefootedness