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.
Widely regarded as the pinnacle for any canine and its owner, both have travelled in unprecedented numbers from around the world this year to come to heel on Crufts' famous green carpets.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
There was also deep resentment at France's inability to bring the jihadists to heel, despite the high-tech weaponry at the disposal of its forces then deployed across the Sahel.
From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025
The chorus’s wild vacillations—celebrating Amina, then punishing her and then trying to clear her name—fit with their efforts to bring her to heel.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
Nicolls and his emissaries were to bring the Puritans there to heel, to compel them to put aside recent differences and respect the king and his government.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2025
This being true, we had only to act in a stern manner to bring the Kaiser to heel.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
