# heel

Pronunciation: say "HEEL" US /hil/, UK /hiːl/

## Noun

1. The rear end of the foot, just below and behind the ankle.
   - Simple: The back part of your foot, below the ankle.
   - _The runner bruised her heel on the rocky trail._
   - _He felt a blister forming on his heel after the long walk._
2. A shoe with a tall, raised heel, especially a woman's dress shoe.
   - Simple: A woman's shoe with a tall, raised back part.
   - _She slipped a heel off under the table during the long dinner._
   - _Tall heels can make your feet ache after only a few hours._
3. The part of a shoe's sole that sits beneath and supports the back of the foot.
   - Simple: The raised part at the back of a shoe that sits under your foot.
   - _The heel of his dress shoe cracked after years of use._
   - _A worn heel can throw off your balance when you walk._
4. In professional wrestling, a performer who plays the villain, with a ring persona built on bragging, bullying, and rule-breaking. *(slang)*
   - Simple: In wrestling, a fighter who plays the bad guy that the crowd loves to boo.
   - _Every great heel knows exactly how to make the audience hate him._
   - _The promoter turned their top star into a heel to spark fresh rivalries._
8. A contemptible person who behaves in a selfish, dishonest, or thoughtless way toward others. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A mean, selfish person who treats other people badly.
   - _He felt like a heel after forgetting his mother's birthday._
   - _The character turns out to be a complete heel by the end of the film._
6. The part of a sock or similar foot covering that fits over the back of the foot.
   - Simple: The back part of a sock that covers your heel.
   - _The heel of the sock had worn thin after months of use._
   - _Knitting the heel of a sock takes a bit of practice._
9. The part of the palm closest to the wrist.
   - Simple: The lower part of your palm, near the wrist.
   - _The therapist applied steady pressure with the heel of her hand._
   - _He struck the jammed drawer with the heel of his hand to loosen it._
10. The slice at either end of a bread loaf, capped with crust. *(dialectal, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, US)*
   - Simple: The end piece of a loaf of bread, with crust on one side.
   - _He toasted the heel and spread it thick with butter._
   - _The heels of two loaves went straight into the bread pudding._
12. A leaning or tilting of a vessel away from upright, over to one side.
   - Simple: The leaning of a boat or ship over to one side.
   - _When the gust hit, the sailboat's heel grew so steep that water splashed over the side._
   - _Passengers gripped the rails during the boat's steep heel._
14. The thickened section of a stringed instrument's neck where it joins the body.
   - Simple: The thicker part where a guitar or violin neck joins the body.
   - _Repairing a loose neck often means resetting the heel into the body block._
   - _The cello's heel showed decades of careful handling._
15. The bottom half of a bun that has been sliced lengthwise. *(US)*
   - Simple: The bottom half of a bun after it is sliced across.
   - _He placed the patty on the heel and topped it with cheese._
   - _The heels of the buns toasted faster than the tops did._
16. On a golf club, the section of the club head's face lying nearest the shaft.
   - Simple: The part of a golf club's face that is closest to the shaft.
   - _The coach warned that striking the ball on the heel sends it off line._
   - _Wear marks near the heel hinted at an inconsistent swing._
18. The upper rear portion of a firearm's stock, at the butt.
   - Simple: The upper back part of a gun's stock, near the shoulder.
   - _The recoil pad fit snugly over the heel of the stock._
   - _She noticed wear along the heel where the gun met her shoulder._
19. The lower end of an axehead's cutting edge, opposite the toe at the upper end.
   - Simple: The lower corner of an axe blade, near the handle, not the top corner.
   - _The old axe was still sharp near the top, but its heel was dull and chipped from years of splitting wood._
   - _He found a nick near the heel of the axe and spent the evening filing it out._
20. In building, the lower end of a timber such as a post or rafter, including the angled end where a sloping rafter rests on a wall.
   - Simple: In building, the bottom end of a wooden post or roof beam, where it sits on the wall.
   - _The heel of the rafter rests on the top plate of the wall._
   - _Builders fasten the heel of each post to the foundation sill._
21. The shorter side of a piece cut on an angle, opposite the longer toe.
   - Simple: The shorter side of a cut made at an angle.
   - _Mark the heel of the cut so the joint lines up._
   - _A clean heel makes the miter sit tight._
22. On a carding machine, the part of a flat lying nearest the main cylinder.
   - Simple: The edge of a carding machine's flat that sits closest to the big rotating cylinder.
   - _Setting the heel too close to the cylinder damages the card clothing._
   - _On a revolving flat card, each flat is set so that its heel sits a little closer to the cylinder than its toe._

## Verb

5. Of a dog, to walk or follow closely at a person's heels, especially on command; also, to make a dog do this.
   - Simple: When a dog heels, it walks close beside your feet, usually because you told it to.
   - _A good sheepdog will heel the instant its handler whistles._
   - _The trainer heeled the young spaniel past the other dogs without a leash._
7. To kick with the heel of the foot.
   - Simple: To kick something using the back of your foot.
   - _The rugby player heeled the ball back out of the scrum._
   - _Defenders can heel the ball clear when they are under pressure._
11. To incline to one side; to tilt, as a ship does under wind or a shifting load.
   - Simple: To lean or tilt to one side, like a boat does.
   - _The sailboat heeled hard to port as the squall hit._
   - _Racers will deliberately make their boats heel to gain a little speed._
13. To attach a heel to a shoe or boot, or to build up the existing heel.
   - Simple: To put a new heel on a shoe or boot, or to make its heel bigger.
   - _He learned to heel and sole footwear during his apprenticeship._
   - _The shop heeled hundreds of pairs every winter._
17. To strike the ball with the heel of the club, near the shaft.
   - Simple: To hit a golf ball with the part of the club nearest the shaft.
   - _She heeled the drive and it sliced into the trees._
   - _Beginners often heel the ball when they stand too close to it._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To carry out a dance or similar movement chiefly by use of the heels.
- (noun) A protruding knob or lump shaped like a human heel.
- (noun) On a wooden ship, the angled joint where the keel meets the sternpost at the rear.
- (noun) In a patience or solitaire game, the cards set aside for later use.
- (verb) To take a fair catch while planting the heel of the leading foot on the ground with its toe raised.
- (noun) A molding with an S-shaped profile that is convex at the top and concave at the bottom, also called an ogee.
- (verb) To fit a fighting rooster with a metal spur on its leg.
- (verb) At Yale, to try out for a student newspaper or other group by doing work for it.
- (verb) To hide something or cover it over, a variant spelling of hele.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–10, 13–22** — From Middle English hele, from Old English hēla, going back through Proto-West Germanic to Proto-Germanic *hanhilaz, a diminutive of *hanhaz ("heel, hock"). It is related to Dutch hiel, German Low German Hiel, Danish and Norwegian hæl, and Swedish häl.
**Meanings 11–12** — This is probably a form worked out from hielded, the past tense of hield. That verb goes back to Middle English helden and Old English hyldan or hieldan ("to incline"), which has a cognate in Old Norse hella ("to pour out").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/heel (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).