Definition of "footprint" []

• An outline or indentation left by a foot on a surface. Also called footmark, footstep. (noun)
• The surface space occupied by a structure or device: the footprint of a building; a microcomputer with a space-saving footprint. (noun)
• An area within which a spacecraft is supposed to land. (noun)
• A designated area affected or covered by a device or phenomenon: the footprint of a communications satellite. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The use of the term footprint to refer to the impact of human activity on the environment is about 30 years old."
• "As you know, MacDill supports tanker operations for the United States Air Force, and we certainly are conducting tanker operations in what we call the footprint around Afghanistan, but we are not basing any of our refueling assets in Afghanistan."
• "ABC's Katz, a "huge hockey fan," suggests the league's "footprint" is growing."