foe

Study(12)

UK /fəʊ/ US /foʊ/

noun 4name 4adj 1

Collocations

(noun.)

ADJ

bitter, dangerous, deadly, formidable, implacable, terrible

My grandfather often spoke about his bitter foe from the war years.

common

old

After years apart, the two old foes finally decided to settle their disagreement.

VERB + FOE

vanquish

The general hoped to vanquish his foes and bring peace to the troubled nation.

PREP

against a ~

The two rival companies decided to work together against a powerful foe in the market.

PHRASES

friend and foe

The charity organization accepts donations from friend and foe without judgment.

friend or foe

When the stranger arrived at the village, nobody could tell if he was friend or foe.

Definitions

adj

Hostile.

he, I say, could passe into Affrike onely with two simple ships or small barkes, to commit himselfe in a strange and foe countrie, to engage his person, under the power of a barbarous King […].

noun

An enemy.

And a mans foes ſhalbe they of his owne houſhold.

Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.

noun

A unit of energy equal to 10⁴⁴ joules.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — an armed adversary (especially a member of an opposing milit

noun — a personal enemy

enemy

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

he, I say, could passe into Affrike onely with two simple ships or small barkes, to commit himselfe in a strange and foe countrie, to engage his person, under the power of a barbarous King […].

Wiktionary

And a mans foes ſhalbe they of his owne houſhold.

Wiktionary

Man is a more dangerous foe to man than the elements of nature or animals in the wild.

Tatoeba · #270204

He makes no friend who never made a foe.

Tatoeba · #278688

When as brothers we unite, we’ll defeat the people’s foe.

Tatoeba · #3351226

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, foe is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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