What does crowsfeet mean?
Crowsfeet are the small, radiating wrinkles that appear at the outer corners of the eyes, formed over time by aging, sun exposure, and the repeated muscle contractions of squinting and smiling. The name comes from the resemblance of these fanning lines to the splayed toes of a bird's footprint. The plural spelling 'crowsfeet' is widely understood, though the apostrophized 'crow's feet' remains the more conventional written form. In everyday speech the word appears most often in conversations about skin care, cosmetics, and aging, where it can carry either a wistful connotation — visible signs of growing older — or an affectionate one, since these lines are popularly called 'laugh lines' and linked with a lifetime of smiling. Beyond the mirror, the term has a specialized second life in trades such as pipefitting, where a crowsfeet is a three-pronged holding tool. For most readers, however, the word belongs firmly to the vocabulary of faces and the stories they tell.
Fine wrinkles fanning out from the outer corner of each eye, typically resulting from aging, sun damage, or repeated smiling and squinting.
"She traced the crowsfeet beside his eyes with one finger, reading in them decades of easy laughter."
Usually treated as a plural; the singular is 'a crow's foot', though in practice people speak of 'crow's feet' even when describing the wrinkles on just one side of the face.
In pipefitting and related trades, a three-pronged metal tool used to grip and hold a pipe while it is threaded or worked on.
"He wedged the crowsfeet into the vise so the pipe wouldn't turn while he cut new threads."
Trade jargon; outside pipefitting this sense is rare, and the tool is more often called a crow's foot or pipe holder.
'Crowsfeet' itself is already a plural form; the singular is conventionally written 'crow's foot' with an apostrophe, and many style guides prefer the apostrophized plural 'crow's feet' as well.
"The fine crow's feet at the corners of her eyes deepened when she smiled."
The wrinkles dermatologists charge fortunes to erase were once called crow's feet because they fan out exactly like the toes of a crow perched on your cheek.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crowsfeet
The term derives from the resemblance of the radiating eye wrinkles to the footprint of a crow, combining the bird name 'crow' (Old English 'crāwe') with 'foot'. It emerged as 'crow's foot' in English, where that phrase long predates the cosmetic sense: it was applied from medieval times to various three-pronged or claw-shaped things, including a type of iron caltrop, a surgical instrument, and a nautical knot. The application to facial wrinkles became common by the nineteenth century, and the unapostrophized plural 'crowsfeet' arose naturally from that form.
Related word forms
How crowsfeet is actually used
The plural form 'crowsfeet' without an apostrophe is less common than the standard 'crow's feet'; many style guides prefer the apostrophized form. In cosmetic and beauty contexts the word often carries a mildly negative connotation of aging, though writers frequently reframe it positively as evidence of a life full of smiles. The pipefitter sense is strictly jargon within the trade.
Easily confused with crowsfeet
Crowfoot is a flowering plant of the buttercup family (Ranunculus), whereas crowsfeet refers to wrinkles at the eye's corner — both named for resembling a crow's foot.
Crow's foot is the standard singular form of the same term; 'crowsfeet' is simply its plural, though it is also used as a standalone plural spelling.