heel

CEFRB1

/hiːl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The back part of the foot below the ankle.

  2. 02

    noun

    The raised back part of a shoe.

Examples

  • She got a run in her stocking when she broke the heel of her shoe.

  • The first baseman is the Achilles heel of our team.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /hil/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The part of a shoe's sole which supports the foot's heel.

  2. The rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg.

  3. The rear part of a sock or similar covering for the foot.

More examples

In context

  • He drove the heel of his hand into the man's nose.

  • the heel of a mast

  • the heel of a vessel

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

He stepped on a sharp rock and injured his blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.