heel

Study(25)

UK /hiːl/ US /hil/

verb 7noun 6name 1

Collocations

(noun.) back part of the foot

VERB + HEEL

lean back on, sit back on, squat on

The yoga instructor asked us to squat on our heels while stretching our arms forward.

rock (back) on

She rocked back on her heels while waiting for the bus to arrive.

pivot on, spin on, turn on

She spun on her heel to face him when she heard her name called.

click (together)

She clicked her heels together excitedly when she heard the good news.

catch

His shoe caught a heel on the stairs and he nearly fell backwards.

injure

HEEL + VERB

click

HEEL + NOUN

injury

PREP

at your ~s

My younger brother always follows me around the house, staying right at my heels.

under the ~

The small country remained under the heel of foreign occupation for decades.

PHRASES

(close/hard/hot) on your heels

She ran out of the store with the angry manager close on her heels.

(noun.) part of a shoe/sock

ADJ

flat, low | high, spike, stiletto | three-inch, etc.

HEEL + NOUN

bar

My favorite shoes needed new heels, so I stopped by the heel bar downtown yesterday.

Definitions

noun

The rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg.

He [the stag] calls to mind his strength and then his speed, / His winged heels and then his armed head.

The part of a shoe's sole which supports the foot's heel.

The rear part of a sock or similar covering for the foot.

The part of the palm of a hand closest to the wrist.

He drove the heel of his hand into the man's nose.

A high-heeled shoe.

She'd been wearing heels, and fell backward off her right heel and twisted or broke her ankle.

Opting to improve her odds of making it up the stairs and into the privacy of her room, she kicked off her left heel, and then her right before leaning down to scoop them up.

verb

To follow at somebody's heels; to chase closely.

She called to her dog to heel.

To cause to follow at somebody’s heels (transitive).

To add a heel to, or increase the size of the heel of (a shoe or boot).

To kick with the heel.

she heeled her horse forward

To perform by the use of the heels, as in dancing, running, etc.

I cannot sing, Nor heel the high lavolt.

verb

To incline to one side; to tilt.

The faster a ship sails, the better she will answer her helm; if she sail very slow, she will scarce steer at all. If she heel much, she won't answer the helm so well.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — someone who is morally reprehensible

verb — put a new heel on

reheel

verb — tilt to one side

list

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

bring to heel

To compel someone to obey; to force someone into a submissive condition.

They wanted a lesson, and they would get it; but it would take three months at least to bring them to heel.

down at heel

In poor condition, especially due to having worn heels; worn-out, shabby.

A pair of Oxford-mixture trousers […] fell in a series of not the most graceful folds over a pair of shoes sufficiently down at heel to display a pair of very soiled white stocking

turn on one's heel

To suddenly turn away from someone or something in order to depart rapidly, especially as expressive of haughtiness, disapproval, or evasiveness.

There he stood, answering shortly and gruffly to all questions proposed to him, . . . and as soon as the ancient priestess had handed him his glass of the salutiferous water, turne

Example Bank

He [the stag] calls to mind his strength and then his speed, / His winged heels and then his armed head.

Wiktionary

He drove the heel of his hand into the man's nose.

Wiktionary

She'd been wearing heels, and fell backward off her right heel and twisted or broke her ankle.

Wiktionary

She called to her dog to heel.

Wiktionary

she heeled her horse forward

Wiktionary

I cannot sing, Nor heel the high lavolt.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, heel is marked as rare. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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