1
on one's heels
常用于比喻紧随其后，也可字面使用。
The police were hot on his heels.
警察紧追在他后面。
鞋跟
heels — plural of heel
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
鞋跟
the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation
The police were hot on his heels.
警察紧追在他后面。
此处指鞋或靴的后跟，不是脚后跟。
脚的后部,与腿相连处；脚跟
The rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg.
从垂直位置倾斜或倾转的动作；倾斜
The act of inclining or canting from a vertical position; a cant.
鞋或靴的后跟；鞋或靴接触地面并垫高的后部
the bottom of a shoe or boot; the back part of a shoe or boot that touches the ground and provides elevation
鞋底支撑脚跟的部分
The part of a shoe's sole which supports the foot's heel.
The heel of my left shoe came loose during the trip.
旅途中我左脚鞋子的鞋跟松了。
These new boots have thick heels that make walking on snow easier.
这双新靴子的厚鞋跟让在雪地上行走更容易。
She prefers shoes with low heels for everyday wear.
她日常更喜欢穿低跟鞋。
常用于比喻紧随其后，也可字面使用。
The police were hot on his heels.
警察紧追在他后面。
指鞋跟较高的女鞋，常为复数形式。
She wore high heels to the party.
她穿高跟鞋去参加派对。
源自希腊神话，指唯一或主要的弱点。
Procrastination is his Achilles heel.
拖延是他的致命弱点。
Not this
The wound will heel soon.
Use this
The wound will heal soon.
Heel 和 heal 发音相同，但 heel 是名词（脚后跟）或动词（紧随），而 heal 是动词（治愈）。表示伤口愈合应用 heal。
Not this
She wears high heel shoes.
Use this
She wears high-heeled shoes.
中文‘高跟鞋’在英语中为复合形容词 high-heeled，需加 -ed 表示‘具有高跟的’，不能省略。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
高跟鞋
She was wearing a pair of elegant high heels.
她穿着一双优雅的高跟鞋。
致命弱点；阿喀琉斯之踵
His pride is his Achilles heel.
他的骄傲是他的致命弱点。
脚后跟
There was a blister on the heel of his foot.
他脚后跟上起了个水泡。
紧随其后
The scandal came on the heels of the election.
丑闻紧随选举而来。
立正；碰脚跟
The soldier clicked his heels and saluted.
士兵立正碰脚跟敬礼。
拒不让步；坚持己见
The union dug its heels in and refused to negotiate.
工会拒不让步，拒绝谈判。
神魂颠倒；完全地
She fell head over heels in love with him.
她对他爱得神魂颠倒。
逃跑；溜走
The thief took to his heels when he saw the police.
小偷看到警察就逃跑了。
使某人就范；使服从
The coach brought the unruly players to heel.
教练让那些不守规矩的球员服从了。
阿喀琉斯之踵
His arrogance was his Achilles' heel.
他的傲慢是他的致命弱点。
他是业内最大的反派。
In wrestling, the heel always loses to the face.
在摔跤中，反派总是输给正派。
发长 /iː/ 音 (如 see, free)
Use heels naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
想象你的脚后跟（heel）踩到一颗小石子，疼得你直喊“嘿哟”（hey），但记住是heel不是heal（治愈）。
语境：鞋类、脚部。语域：中性。注：通常用于日常描述，无特殊语域限制。
Words ending with -eel (feel, peel, reel, wheel) rhyme with heel. Heal is a homophone (same pronunciation). Hell looks similar but has a different vowel sound (short e instead of long e).
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.