# heel

> English word · Noun · IPA /hiːl/ · frequency rank #9,052

## Definitions
1. The rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg.
2. The part of a shoe's sole which supports the foot's heel.
3. The rear part of a sock or similar covering for the foot.
4. The part of the palm of a hand closest to the wrist.
5. A high-heeled shoe.
6. The back, upper part of the stock.
7. The thickening of the neck of a stringed instrument where it attaches to the body.
8. The last or lowest part of anything.
9. A crust end-piece of a loaf of bread.
10. The base of a bun sliced in half lengthwise.
11. A contemptible, unscrupulous, inconsiderate, or thoughtless person.
12. 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.
13. The cards set aside for later use in a patience or solitaire game.
14. Anything resembling a human heel in shape; a protuberance; a knob.
15. The lower end of a timber in a frame, as a post or rafter.
16. The obtuse angle of the lower end of a rafter set sloping.
17. A cyma reversa.
18. The short side of an angled cut.
19. The part of a club head's face nearest the shaft.
20. The lower end of the bit (cutting edge) of an axehead, as opposed to the toe (upper end).
21. The part of a carding machine's flat nearest the cylinder.
22. The junction between the keel and the stempost of a vessel; an angular wooden join connecting the two.
23. Material stored in a smelting furnace between batches

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **her** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-her)
- **hey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hey)
- **hes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hes)
- **heh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-heh)
- **hen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hen)
- **hue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hue)
- **hoe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hoe)
- **hem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hem)
- **hye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hye)
- **het** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-het)
- **Hel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hel)
- **hep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hep)
- **hse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hse)
- **hew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hew)
- **here** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-here)
- **help** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-help)
- **held** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-held)
- **hell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hell)
- **hill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hill)
- **hero** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heel-vs-hero)

## Common misspellings (4)
`ehel`, `heell`, `hele`, `hheel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/heel