Plural of “hoof”

The plural of hoof is hooves (some dictionaries also accept hoofs).

Why

Historically, 'hoof,' from Old English 'hof,' took the same f-to-v voicing shift that gave English 'knives' and 'wolves,' producing 'hooves' — but this is one of the rare members of the family where the older voiced plural hasn't won outright: 'hoofs' has become common enough in modern usage that major dictionaries now list both as fully standard.

Veterinary and equestrian writing shows a real, ongoing split: some professional farriers and vets prefer "hoofs" as the more modern, regularized form, while others, along with much general and literary writing, still default to the older "hooves" — a genuine case where a word hasn't settled the way "knife/knives" settled centuries ago, making "hoof" a useful live example of irregular plurals slowly regularizing in real time. Farriers, the specialized craftspeople who trim and shoe horses' hooves, represent one of the professions most directly affected by the hoof/hooves versus hoofs debate, and industry publications for that trade show genuine, ongoing disagreement about which plural to standardize on in their own trade writing and marketing materials.

Usage note

Either plural is defensible in almost any context today; if you're writing for a specifically equestrian or veterinary audience, it's worth checking that publication's house style, since professional opinion genuinely varies here in a way it doesn't for most other f-to-v words on this list.

"Hoofed," describing animals that possess hooves ("hoofed mammals"), stays completely regular and untouched by the noun's own plural debate — English simply doesn't inflect adjectives of this kind for number, no matter how unsettled the underlying noun's plural remains. Veterinary anatomy textbooks split close to evenly between the two plurals depending on publisher and country, with some newer American titles leaning toward "hoofs" specifically to fall in line with the broader push to regularize less-common irregular plurals in technical writing. Racehorse trainers, meanwhile, track hoof condition obsessively, since even a minor hoof injury can end a competitive career, which keeps precise hoof-related vocabulary essential throughout the entire racing industry.

Common real mistakes

At this stage in the word's history, neither plural counts as an actual error, though decades-old usage guides once dismissed "hoofs" outright — a strict stance that's relaxed considerably now that the regularized form has become common in everyday and even much professional writing. One genuinely separate mix-up: the idiom "hoof it," meaning to travel somewhere on foot, uses "hoof" as an entirely regular informal verb, unrelated to the plural-noun question addressed here.

The wider pattern

Historically 'hoof' rode the same f-to-v wave that gave English 'knives' and 'wolves,' but it hasn't settled the way those older words did — alongside 'scarf' and 'dwarf,' it's one of the few members of this family still visibly caught between the traditional voiced plural and a newer, simpler -s ending.

Examples

• The horse's hooves clattered loudly on the cobblestone street.
• The farrier trimmed all four hoofs before shoeing the horse.
• Cattle hooves left deep prints in the muddy field.
• She checked each hoof carefully for signs of infection.
• The herd's hooves thundered across the open plain.
• Both front hoofs needed new shoes before the competition.
• The vet examined the horse's hooves after it went lame.
• Deer hooves are surprisingly delicate compared to a horse's.
• The blacksmith reshaped the worn hooves with practiced skill.
• Dried mud caked the animal's hooves after the storm.
• The blacksmith's shop specialized in fitting horseshoes to worn hooves.
• Cattle hooves are typically checked during routine herd health inspections.
• The trail left visible hoofprints from dozens of passing horses.
• Farriers travel between farms to trim hooves on a regular schedule.
• The zoo's veterinarian examined the giraffe's hooves during the routine checkup.
• Two of the four hoofs showed early signs of cracking.