Heed Meaning
/ˈhiːd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounCareful attention.
verbTo guard, protect.
Sentence Examples
The man gave no heed to her loud protest.
The mountaineers set off, paying no heed to the severe blizzard.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The driver did not ____ the warning sign and hit the tree.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is important to ____ the warning signs and stay away from the dangerous cliffs near the shore.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English heden, from Old English hēdan (“to heed, take care, observe, attend, guard, take charge, take possession, receive”), from Proto-West Germanic *hōdijan (“to heed, guard”), from Proto-Indo-European *kadʰ- (“to heed, protect”). Cognate with West Frisian hoedje (“to heed”), Dutch hoeden (“to heed”), German hüten (“to heed”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Then for a few minutes I did not pay much heed to what was said, being terribly straitened for room, and cramped with pain from lying so long in one place."
— [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
"With pleasure Argus the musician heeds."
— 1567, Ovid, translated by John Dryden, Metamorphoses, Book 1:
""It comes back to me that I wanted to say something to the driver and that I couldn't make him heed me.""
— 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
"The help tended to be officious, the rules, if heeded, restrictive, and the management meddlesome."
— 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168:
"Tolokonnikova not only tried to adjust to life in the penal colony but she even tried to heed the criticism levied at her by colony representatives during a parole hearing."
— 2013 September 23, Masha Gessen, “Life in a Russian Prison”, in New York Times, retrieved 24 Sep 2013:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The driver did not ____ the warning sign and hit the tree.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is important to ____ the warning signs and stay away from the dangerous cliffs near the shore.