"think on one's feet" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "thinks on one's feet",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thinking on one's feet",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thought on one's feet",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thought on one's feet",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "think<,,thought> on one's feet"
      },
      "expansion": "think on one's feet (third-person singular simple present thinks on one's feet, present participle thinking on one's feet, simple past and past participle thought on one's feet)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1901, Henry B. Fuller, chapter 24, in Under the Skylights",
          "text": "\"There will be wine,\" said Medora. \"Drink it. There may be toasts. Be ready to respond.\"\nAbner could think on his feet—speech would not fail.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "c. 1919, Elbert Hubbard, “Richard Cobden”, in Little Journeys, Volume 9: Great Reformers",
          "text": "The political canvass had given freedom to his wings; he had learned to think on his feet, to meet interruption, to parry in debate.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 September 16, Karen Crouse, “Covering New Ground, Jets’ Clemens Relies on Deep Roots”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-11-07",
          "text": "Clemens had to think on his feet, adjust on the run, make split-second decisions and, if he messed up, contend with the consequences.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "When one is in the middle of a process, activity, or conversation, to adjust rapidly, effectively, and intelligently to new developments or changing circumstances."
      ],
      "id": "en-think_on_one's_feet-en-verb-SOSffX7D",
      "links": [
        [
          "adjust",
          "adjust"
        ],
        [
          "rapidly",
          "rapidly"
        ],
        [
          "effectively",
          "effectively"
        ],
        [
          "intelligently",
          "intelligently"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) When one is in the middle of a process, activity, or conversation, to adjust rapidly, effectively, and intelligently to new developments or changing circumstances."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "make it up as one goes along"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "extemporize"
        },
        {
          "word": "improvise"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "adjust rapidly to new developments",
          "word": "ajatella seisaaltaan"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-think on one's feet.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/73/En-au-think_on_one%27s_feet.ogg/En-au-think_on_one%27s_feet.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/En-au-think_on_one%27s_feet.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "think on one's feet"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "thinks on one's feet",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thinking on one's feet",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thought on one's feet",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thought on one's feet",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "think<,,thought> on one's feet"
      },
      "expansion": "think on one's feet (third-person singular simple present thinks on one's feet, present participle thinking on one's feet, simple past and past participle thought on one's feet)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "make it up as one goes along"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "Terms with Finnish translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1901, Henry B. Fuller, chapter 24, in Under the Skylights",
          "text": "\"There will be wine,\" said Medora. \"Drink it. There may be toasts. Be ready to respond.\"\nAbner could think on his feet—speech would not fail.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "c. 1919, Elbert Hubbard, “Richard Cobden”, in Little Journeys, Volume 9: Great Reformers",
          "text": "The political canvass had given freedom to his wings; he had learned to think on his feet, to meet interruption, to parry in debate.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 September 16, Karen Crouse, “Covering New Ground, Jets’ Clemens Relies on Deep Roots”, in New York Times, retrieved 2011-11-07",
          "text": "Clemens had to think on his feet, adjust on the run, make split-second decisions and, if he messed up, contend with the consequences.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "When one is in the middle of a process, activity, or conversation, to adjust rapidly, effectively, and intelligently to new developments or changing circumstances."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "adjust",
          "adjust"
        ],
        [
          "rapidly",
          "rapidly"
        ],
        [
          "effectively",
          "effectively"
        ],
        [
          "intelligently",
          "intelligently"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) When one is in the middle of a process, activity, or conversation, to adjust rapidly, effectively, and intelligently to new developments or changing circumstances."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-think on one's feet.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/73/En-au-think_on_one%27s_feet.ogg/En-au-think_on_one%27s_feet.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/En-au-think_on_one%27s_feet.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "extemporize"
    },
    {
      "word": "improvise"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "adjust rapidly to new developments",
      "word": "ajatella seisaaltaan"
    }
  ],
  "word": "think on one's feet"
}