heed

[ heed ]

verb (used with object)

1. to give careful attention to:

   He did not heed the warning.

   Synonyms: mark, consider, observe, note

   Antonyms: ignore, disregard

verb (used without object)

1. to give attention; have regard.

noun

1. careful attention; notice; observation (usually with give or take ).

   Synonyms: watchfulness, vigilance, caution, care, consideration

heed

/ hiːd /

noun

1. close and careful attention; notice (often in the phrases give, pay, or take heed )

verb

1. to pay close attention to (someone or something)

Derived Forms

• ˈheedfully, adverb
• ˈheedful, adjective
• ˈheeder, noun
• ˈheedfulness, noun

Other Words From

• heeder noun
• un·heeded adjective
• un·heeded·ly adverb
• un·heeding adjective
• un·heeding·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of heed¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English heden, Old English hēdan; cognate with German hüten “to guard, protect”; akin to hood ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of heed¹

Old English hēdan; related to Old Saxon hōdian, Old High German huoten

Example Sentences

I’ve never really paid much heed to the purported differences between millennials and Gen Xers or whatever else, but certainly what are referred to as Gen Z, new people coming into the workforce, have different expectations in life.

From Time

Titled “India’s Covid-19 Emergency,” the editorial in one of the world’s oldest and best-known general medical journals blamed the government for not paying heed to superspreader events and not preventing the unprecedented surge of Covid-19 cases.

From Quartz

Paying heed to the importance of visualizing data means following a few best practices.

From Search Engine Watch

He claimed to be worried about the children, but paid no heed to guidance of medical organizations — including the American Academy of Pediatrics — that recommend treating gender-diverse children by affirming their gender identities.

From Washington Post

The science of minutes management is fairly clear, and most teams have taken heed of it.

From FiveThirtyEight

When it comes to educating our children, Congress should heed that message, not ignore it.

From The Daily Beast

But now, Obama should heed his call for a ‘service year’ and get on board.

From The Daily Beast

TMZ should show some decency and heed the plea Krizya Fuqua.

From The Daily Beast

Failing that, Hillary Clinton should heed his findings about wealth and inequality—and take on the crisis head on.

From The Daily Beast

I texted him that I would heed his advice and schedule an appointment with the specialist.

From The Daily Beast

The man that giveth heed to lying visions, is like to him that catcheth at a shadow, and followeth after the wind.

From Project Gutenberg

But she was young enough and pretty enough to pay little heed to pose or background.

From Project Gutenberg

She waved a dissenting hand, and went on, paying no further heed to their renewed cries which sought to detain her.

From Project Gutenberg

He gave little heed to the play; his thoughts were elsewhere, and, while they rambled, his eyes wandered round the house.

From Project Gutenberg

Do not heed the Governor-Generalʼs decree, calling you to arms, even though it cost you your lives.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Heed

What does heed mean?

To heed something is to listen to it, pay careful attention to it, or otherwise observe or acknowledge it in some way—and often to take action on it.

To heed a warning is to listen to it and do what it says to do (or not do what it says not to do). To heed a request is honor it—to do what is requested. To heed calls for reform is to acknowledge them, and, sometimes, to actually follow through and make reforms.

Heed can also be used as a noun meaning careful attention or observation. It’s most often used in the phrases take heed, give heed, and pay heed, which all mean to listen or pay attention, as in Take heed to what he says, for he is very wise. To pay no heed to someone is to disregard or ignore them.

The adjective unheeded means disregarded, despite having been heard or noted. An unheeded warning is one that has been ignored.

Example: I should have heeded your warnings, but instead I ignored them.

Where does heed come from?

The first records of the word heed come from before 900. It comes from the Old English word hēdan, which is related to the German hüten, meaning “to guard” or “to protect.”

Today, heed can sometimes sound old-fashioned, and terms like pay attention to or listen to are more commonly used. But heed packs a lot of meaning into just four letters, since it usually means “pay attention to and then act on.” Perhaps because of this and how short it is, heed is often used in news headlines, as in Governor heeds calls for tax reform or Residents urged to heed evacuation order.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to heed?

• heeder (noun)
• heedful (adjective)
• heedfulness (noun)

What are some synonyms for heed?

• listen to
• pay attention to
• attend
• mark
• regard
• note

What are some words that share a root or word element with heed? 

 

• unheeded

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing heed?

• warning
• advice
• call
• request
• take
• give
• pay

How is heed used in real life?

Heed is especially used in the context of warnings, advice, requests, and calls for some kind of action.

Prepare 👏 prepare 👏 prepare 👏

We do what we do so @NHC_Atlantic can give you as much of a heads up as possible. Listen to your local gov’t. Heed warnings. Be prepared.

Most of all, stay safe, everyone! https://t.co/UW7jCtB5pI

— Hurricane Hunters (@53rdWRS) September 14, 2020

How should museums serve the public? Are museums heeding calls for diversity? National Gallery of Art director Kaywin Feldman and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson answer these questions and more https://t.co/Ib0hPGpVmD

— ARTnews (@artnews) July 2, 2019

Tax bills can swell or shrink based on how well people heed the fine-print rules of their retirement accounts https://t.co/M47UykLj8u

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 30, 2019

 

 

Try using heed!

Which of the following terms is NOT a synonym of heed?

A. disregard
B. listen to
C. note
D. pay attention to