What does "heel" mean?
The rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg.
Heel
/hil/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg.
- Grammar: heel is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: accompany, accouter, afterpart, afterpiece.
- Useful contrasts: babyface, balance, detach.
- Usage evidence: The first baseman is the Achilles heel of our team.
How to use "heel"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "heel" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "heel" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "heel" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "heel" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "heel" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accompany" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "heel", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 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."
- 2 The act of inclining or canting from a vertical position; a cant.
"[T]he boat, from a sudden gust of wind, taking a deep heel, I tumbled overboard and down I went […] ."
- 3 the bottom of a shoe or boot; the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation wordnet
- 4 The part of a shoe's sole which supports the foot's heel.
- 5 (golf) the part of the clubhead where it joins the shaft wordnet
Show 25 more definitions
- 6 The rear part of a sock or similar covering for the foot.
- 7 the lower end of a ship's mast wordnet
- 8 The part of the palm of a hand closest to the wrist.
"He drove the heel of his hand into the man's nose."
- 9 the back part of the human foot wordnet
- 10 A high-heeled shoe. plural-normally
"She'd been wearing heels, and fell backward off her right heel and twisted or broke her ankle."
- 11 one of the crusty ends of a loaf of bread wordnet
- 12 The back, upper part of the stock.
- 13 someone who is morally reprehensible wordnet
- 14 The thickening of the neck of a stringed instrument where it attaches to the body.
- 15 The last or lowest part of anything.
"the heel of a mast"
- 16 A crust end-piece of a loaf of bread. Australia, Ireland, Scotland, US
"the heel of the white loaf"
- 17 The base of a bun sliced in half lengthwise. US
"The bottom half, or the bun heel is placed in the carton, and the pickle slices spread evenly over the meat or cheese."
- 18 A contemptible, unscrupulous, inconsiderate, or thoughtless person. informal
"I grinned at him sneeringly. I was the heel to end all heels. Wait until the man is down, then kick him and kick him again. He's weak. He can't resist or kick back."
- 19 A headlining wrestler regarded as a "bad guy," whose ring persona embodies villainous or reprehensible traits and demonstrates characteristics of a braggart and a bully. broadly, slang
"Freedman began his analysis by noting two important facts about professional wrestling: First, that heels triumph considerably more often than do babyfaces[…]"
- 20 The cards set aside for later use in a patience or solitaire game.
- 21 Anything resembling a human heel in shape; a protuberance; a knob.
- 22 The lower end of a timber in a frame, as a post or rafter.
- 23 The obtuse angle of the lower end of a rafter set sloping. US, specifically
- 24 A cyma reversa. obsolete
"Of these there are two Kinds; in the one, that Part which has the greatest Projecture is Concave, and is term'd Doucine, or an Upright Ogee; in the other, the Convex Part has the greatest Projecture; and this is call'd the Heel, or Inverted Ogee."
- 25 The short side of an angled cut.
- 26 The part of a club head's face nearest the shaft.
- 27 The lower end of the bit (cutting edge) of an axehead, as opposed to the toe (upper end).
- 28 The part of a carding machine's flat nearest the cylinder.
- 29 The junction between the keel and the stempost of a vessel; an angular wooden join connecting the two.
- 30 Material stored in a smelting furnace between batches
Verb
- 1 To follow at somebody's heels; to chase closely.
"She called to her dog to heel."
- 2 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."
- 3 Alternative form of hele (“cover; conceal”). alt-of, alternative, especially, rare
"They should be dug up with a sharp mattock or grub hoe, the roots being broken as little as possible, and they should be heeled in a cool place and protected from the sun until ready to plant. When lifted for planting from the trench in which heeled the roots should be kept covered with a wet sack."
- 4 put a new heel on wordnet
- 5 To cause to follow at somebody’s heels (transitive).
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 strike with the heel of the club wordnet
- 7 To add a heel to, or increase the size of the heel of (a shoe or boot).
- 8 perform with the heels wordnet
- 9 To kick with the heel.
"she heeled her horse forward"
- 10 follow at the heels of a person wordnet
- 11 To perform by the use of the heels, as in dancing, running, etc. transitive
"I cannot sing, Nor heel the high lavolt."
- 12 tilt to one side wordnet
- 13 To arm with a gaff, as a cock for fighting. transitive
- 14 To hit (the ball) with the heel of the club. transitive
- 15 To make (a fair catch) standing with one foot forward, the heel on the ground and the toe up. transitive
- 16 At Yale University, to work as a heeler or student journalist. US, intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A part of Maasgouw in the Netherlands
Example
"The first baseman is the Achilles heel of our team."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "heel"?
Common synonyms include: accompany, accouter, afterpart, afterpiece, appoint, arch.
How do you use "heel" in a sentence?
The first baseman is the Achilles heel of our team.
How do you pronounce "heel"?
Pronounced /hil/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Probably inferred from hielded, the past tense of hield, from Middle English helden, heelden, from Old English hyldan, hieldan (“to incline”), cognate with Old Norse hella (“to pour out”) (whence Danish hælde (“lean, pour”)).
Etymology 3
See hele (“conceal, keep secret, cover”).