idiom · neutral
think on your feet
UK/θɪŋk ɒn jɔː fiːt/US/θɪŋk ɑn jʊr fiːt/think·on·your·FEET
to be able to respond quickly and effectively in unexpected situations
Examples
“In interviews you often have to think on your feet when the panel asks a surprise question.”
“As a teacher I learned to think on my feet whenever a lesson didn’t go as planned.”
“During client calls I frequently have to think on my feet because their priorities change suddenly.”
Band 8 sentence
“Working at the front desk taught me to think on my feet, especially when several callers needed urgent help at the same time.”
Collocations
- have to think on your feet
- good at thinking on your feet
- require someone to think on their feet
Word family
Common mistakes
think with your feet→think on your feet
think on feet→think on your feet
Say it for a higher band
5respond quickly→6think quickly→7+think on your feet
Synonyms
be quick-witted
think quickly
Easily confused
act on the spot
“When the client criticised the design, I had to act on the spot and propose an alternative.”
Related words
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In Work
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