Link Centre Dictionary

heel

UK/hiːl/ US/hil/ fairly common informal slang us
noun (7) verb (5)

noun

1.

the bottom of a shoe or boot; the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation

2.

the back part of the human foot

3.

someone who is morally reprehensible

  • “you dirty dog”
Synonyms
4.

one of the crusty ends of a loaf of bread

5.

the lower end of a ship''s mast

6.

(golf) the part of the clubhead where it joins the shaft

7.

the piece of leather that fits the heel

Synonyms

verb

1.

tilt to one side

  • “The balloon heeled over”
  • “the wind made the vessel heel”
  • “The ship listed to starboard”
Synonyms
2.

follow at the heels of a person

3.

perform with the heels

  • “heel that dance”
4.

strike with the heel of the club

  • “heel a golf ball”
5.

put a new heel on

  • “heel shoes”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English hele, from Old English hēla, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄hilō, from Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz, diminutive of Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (“heel, hock”), equivalent to hock + -le. More at hock. Compare North Frisian haiel, West Frisian hyl, Dutch hiel, German Low German Hiel, Danish and Norwegian hæl, Swedish häl.

Phrases

  • Achilles heel
  • Achilles' heel
  • at someone's heels
  • bring someone to heel
  • bring to heel
  • cool one's heels
  • couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions on the heel
  • Cuban heel
  • heel out
  • heel up

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.