From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfootholdfoot‧hold /ˈfʊthəʊld $ -hoʊld/ noun [countable] 1 PROGRESSa position from which you can start to make progress and achieve your aimsgain/establish a foothold Extreme right-wing parties gained a foothold in the latest European elections.2 DSODNa small hole or crack where you can safely put your foot when climbing a steep rock
Examples from the Corpus
foothold• Western novels about women had a more difficult time finding a foothold.• This month, try to get a foothold on freedom.• Everybody is trying to get a foothold in the family moviemaking business.• In other words, there should be no footholds for an agile intruder.• Spreadsheets have typically adopted these commands in order to gain some foothold in the market.• It gave me the foothold I needed to pull myself up and look in at the window.• To lose your foothold was to be trodden down.gain/establish a foothold• Keeping hydrated improves the body's ability to trap and neutralize those microbes before they can gain a foothold.• These opportunistic diseases would not otherwise gain a foothold in the body.From Longman Business Dictionaryfootholdfoot‧hold /ˈfʊthəʊld-hoʊld/ noun [countable usually singular] part of a market that a company obtains, hoping to obtain more of the same market or part of another larger market that is related to itSYNBEACHHEADSeveral U.S. companies have teamed up with Mexican retailers to get a foothold in the huge Mexican market. 