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heel2

Pronunciation: /hiːl/
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Definition of heel

verb

[no object]
  • (of a boat or ship) lean over owing to the pressure of wind or an uneven load: the boat heeled in the freshening breeze the Mary Rose heeled over and sank in 1545Compare with list2.
  • [with object] cause (a boat or ship) to lean over: the boat was heeled over so far that water sloshed over the gunwales

noun

  • an instance of a ship heeling.
  • [mass noun] the degree of incline of a ship’s leaning measured from the vertical.

Origin:

late 16th century: from obsolete heeld, hield 'incline', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hellen

heel in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of heel in the US English dictionary

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