1. Ropes or lines strung beneath the yards of a ship, on which sailors stand while working aloft.
Usage: nautical; plural form; singular is footrope

Examples

• The sailors gripped the footropes as they balanced on the yard to adjust the sails.
• Footropes provided essential safety and support for crew members working high above the deck.
• The ship's footropes were inspected regularly to ensure they could bear the weight of the crew.
• Young sailors had to learn to walk confidently along the footropes during their first weeks aboard.
• The footropes swayed gently in the wind as the men worked to furl the canvas.