heel

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“
The fact that my heel is actually bruised from tapping to the dang song (Thank you, tiled flooring!) is proof in itself that 'For Your Entertainment' will dominate both the music charts and DJs 'playlists across the globe.

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Definitions (97)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (32)

  1. noun The rounded posterior portion of the human foot under and behind the ankle.
  2. noun The corresponding part of the hind foot of other vertebrates.
  3. noun A similar anatomical part, such as the fleshy rounded base of the human palm or the hind toe of a bird.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (51)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • He's our Achilles-heel, and we must guard him like a child. —  THE ISLAND OF SHEEP
  • The heel is a high one and the inside of the heel, adjacent to the instep, has to be pressed to release the spring cover over the plaque. —  119 - The Time Terror
  • He especially enjoys the fact that the heel is a bit higher than normal running shoes. —  Zappos.com: new styles
  • Well, I guess the heel is a officially rehabbed because I survived the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler today without incident. —  Baltiblogs
  • I don't care if they look sort of sandal-y (shouldn't be wearing in the winter anyway) and you think that makes them not clunky, if the heel is as wide as the shoe, they're clunky! —  Austin Bloggers: Austin Metablog
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This word has been looked up 163 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

boot ·  toe ·  knee ·  leg ·  sandal ·  hoof ·  claw ·  hat ·  fist ·  foot ·  ankle ·  finger

Used in the same contextWord Family

heel:   heels
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (6)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English, from Old English hēla.
  2. Alteration of Middle English helden, from Old English hieldan.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. from Middle English heel, heele, from Anglo-Saxon hēla, hǣla (= OFries. hēla, heila, North Friesic hael, häile, hajel, hägel = Old Dutch hiele, Dutch hiel = Icelandic hǣll = Swedish häl = Danish hæl), the heel, prob. orig. *hōhila, diminutive of. hōh, the heel, the hock, later English hock, hough. Cf. Dutch hak = Low German hakke, later G. hacke (vulg.), the heel: see hock, hack, n. The generally asserted connection with L. calx (calc-), the heel (see calcar, calk, etc.), = Greek λάξ (for *κλάξ?), is open to question.
  2. from heel, n.
  3. Also written (dial.) heal, hele, hill; a corruption, due apparently to confusion of the orig. present with the preterit, of the earlier heeld, heald, which remains in dial. use: see heeld, heald.
  4. from heel, v.
 

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/hil/
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