heels 1 of 2

noun

plural of heel
as in dogs
a person whose behavior is offensive to others felt like a heel when she found out that she'd blamed the wrong person

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

heels

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of heel
as in slopes
to set or cause to be at an angle the strong gust heeled the sailboat almost to the point of capsizing, but we managed to right it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heels
Noun
Databricks followed hot on its heels as per this week’s big story below. — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026 Opt for pointy heels instead of sneakers, wide-leg pants instead of skinny jeans, and a trendy funnel-neck jacket just to dial up the chicness. — Bianca Kratky, Glamour, 21 Oct. 2026 Off the heels of an impressive first-round playoff victory over the Houston Rockets, expectations for the Lakers remain firmly in the playoff picture. — Austin Turner, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 Boise’s decision comes on the heels of Central District Health announcing its regional plan to combat rats. — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 21 Oct. 2026 As for finishing touches and accessories, Ortega sported a pair of strappy gold sandal heels, amplifying the sunny disposition of her attire, and wore a set of statement cocktail rings to boot. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026 The results come on the heels of last week’s layoffs, the company’s deepest cuts since 2022, as well as the ouster of high-level executives including content chief Bela Bajaria. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2026 Oliver got the show started by kicking his heels together and pointing out that stand-up comedy and a venue like Carnegie Hall are opposing ovals in a Venn diagram, with stand-up degrading such a magnificent space. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026 Potts also helped Marshall fix his running form, running on the balls of his feet instead of his heels. — Pj Green october 14, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
Savoy Brown also wore Manolo Blahnik heels with a Hanut Singh ring. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 26 Feb. 2026 These sultry heels have a subtle pink hue like the Elisabet Tang heels, as well as eye-catching hold hardware on the back. — Jordan Julian, InStyle, 4 Feb. 2026 The action then moves to a studio where Law Roach is styling Adrina Lima who is wearing an archival Maison Margiela top with a Miss Claire Sullivan skirt and Helmut Lang heels. — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 23 Dec. 2025 Amanu, the youngest, is the most experimental, wearing business casual ties and button downs one day and trying on a sequined dress and heels the next. — Essence, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heels
  1. dogs
  2. slopes
  3. jerks
  4. tilts
  5. clowns
  6. angles
  7. skunks
  8. snakes
Noun
  • Staff often greet regulars – and their dogs – by name with a warm question about their day.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Cadaver dogs also alerted to the scent of a corpse in the vehicle.
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of dogs
Verb
  • The rest of the Cambria isn’t bad, either, including the shops and galleries along Main Street (which is deceptively long) and the piney slopes above.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • In rivers and streams in Virginia and Maryland, Hack measured the length of each stream and the area of the land that slopes toward that stream and therefore drains into it, called its basin or drainage area.
    — Natalie Wolchover, Quanta Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of slopes
Noun
  • Lee and his Burning co-writer Oh Jung-mi resist what might have been the first instinct of many filmmakers by refusing to make Ye-ji and Sang-woo overly patronizing rich jerks.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The Ars OpenForum is a place for readers to ask questions, compare notes, argue (without being jerks to each other), and go down all sorts of rabbit holes.
    — Eric Bangeman, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of jerks
Verb
  • The numbers also show how often the process tilts toward the party bringing the dispute.
    — Christine Cooper, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • El Niño is not a storm that hits at a particular location, but rather a long duration phenomenon that tilts the odds in favor of extreme weather and climate events for certain areas.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of tilts
Noun
  • Many Orlando-area homes feature skeletons that tower over the neighborhood, witchy covens, horror movie icons, clowns, pirate ships, pumpkins, zombies and vampires.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Friday, Edith, and the maintenance bots are sometimes goofy comic-relief clowns.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of clowns
Verb
  • Adapting to the 20,000-seat Garden, Styles’s stage is a more streamlined semi-circle that still angles for maximum access, plus a little pop.
    — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Outdoor curtains lend some privacy while providing a bit of shade when the sun angles in at sunrise and sunset.
    — Wendy Rose Gould, Martha Stewart, 23 June 2026
Definition of angles
Noun
  • Officials say the last animal confirmed to have rabies that wasn’t a bat was a skunk infected with the bat strain of rabies in Long Beach in 2014.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
  • And coyotes regulate populations of mesocarnivores like skunks and raccoons, helping support the survival of ground-nesting birds.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of skunks
Noun
  • Ingratitude is indeed sharper than a serpent’s tooth, and McBride isn’t wrong, but since when has Hollywood not been a pit of snakes?
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • To do this, the team of researchers used fossils and knowledge of mosasaurs' most recent living relatives – snakes and lizards like the komodo dragon – to recreate the hunting behavior of mosasaurs.
    — October 16, NPR, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of snakes

Phrases Containing heels

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Cite this Entry

“Heels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heels. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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