head over heels


Completely, thoroughly, as in They fell head over heels in love. This expression originated in the 1300s as heels over head and meant literally being upside down. It took its present form in the 1700s and its present meaning in the 1800s.

Words Nearby head over heels

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use head over heels in a sentence

  • "I have fallen head over heels in love with the young lady," he confessed.

    Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo | E. Phillips Oppenheim
  • We walk, slide, and scramble down steep slopes where it would be easy to tumble down head over heels.