to heel
Idioms-
Close behind someone, as in The dog started chasing the car but Miriam called him to heel . This expression is used almost solely in reference to dogs. The heel in this idiom, first recorded in 1810, is the person's.
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Under control or discipline, as in By a series of surprise raids the police brought the gang members to heel . This expression alludes to controlling a dog by training it to follow at one's heels. [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Following Warsh’s speech at Jackson Hole, Wyo., where the Fed chair said once again that the central bank would bring inflation to heel, Trump appeared willing to give Warsh a pass to hike rates.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Ma concludes that it will take a more concerted effort by President Xi Jinping to bring State Grid to heel.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
Father Theodore Hesburgh, the president of Notre Dame, was more interested in building an academic institution than a football powerhouse, and was determined to bring the coach to heel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
One would hope that Xinis’s rebuke would bring the government to heel, but unfortunately she is not an outlier.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2025
She’s right about walking toe to heel with one foot in front of the other.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
