Word.ws English Dictionary

have the legs of someone

have the legs of someone verb: to be able to outpace someone.

Verb

have the legs of someone (third-person singular simple present has the legs of someone, present participle having the legs of someone, simple past and past participle had the legs of someone)

  1. To be able to outpace someone.
    • Anyway, we'll get behind him; and I think we have the legs of him when it comes to a straight pursuit.2018, Alfred Duggan, Besieger of Cities
    • I knew something of gunnery once, but now I'm on the shelf. I myself would risk the mouldies and fight at close quarters—we have the legs of Fritz and could choose our own range—but in-fighting means tremendous risks, and the dear stupid old public would howl for my head if the corresponding losses...2021, Bennet Copplestone, The Silent Watchers: England's Navy during the Great War

Forms of have the legs of someone

third-person singular presenthas the legs of someone
present participlehaving the legs of someone
past participlehad the legs of someone
pasthad the legs of someone

Questions about have the legs of someone

What does have the legs of someone mean?
Have the legs of someone means to be able to outpace someone.
What part of speech is have the legs of someone?
Have the legs of someone is a verb.
What is the past tense of have the legs of someone?
The past tense of have the legs of someone is had the legs of someone.

Words near have the legs of someone in the dictionary

  1. have the heart
  2. have the hots for
  3. have the last laugh
  4. have the laugh on one's side
  5. have the law of
  6. have the legs of someone
  7. have the painters in
  8. have the pas of someone
  9. have the pleasure
  10. have the right time
  11. have the run of

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: have the legs of someone (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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