high-heeled

high-heeled — adjective

1. describing shoes whose back part under the foot is made tall, lifting the wearer

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describing shoes whose back part under the foot is made tall, lifting the wearer's heel noticeably above the toes

Example

Leila wore elegant high-heeled shoes to the wedding dinner.

collocation: high-heeled shoes

The high-heeled boots made a clicking sound on the wooden stairs.

collocation: high-heeled boots

Common collocations
  • high-heeled shoes
  • high-heeled boots
  • high-heeled sandals
  • high-heeled pumps
Synonyms
  • stiletto

    refers only to very thin, narrow high heels; more specific than 'high-heeled'

  • heeled

    broader term for any shoe with a heel of any height, not just high ones

Antonyms
  • flat

    describes shoes with no raised heel at all

Grammar Patterns

high-heeled + noun (shoes, boots, sandals, pumps)

Usage Note

Only used to describe footwear. Always appears before the noun it modifies (high-heeled shoes, high-heeled boots), never after a linking verb.

Common Mistakes

I bought high-heeled.
I bought high-heeled shoes.
'high-heeled' is a compound adjective and must be followed by a noun.

Word family

  • high heel
    nounB1
  • high heels
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

High-heeled describes any shoe with a raised heel, regardless of its thickness or exact height. Stiletto is more specific, referring only to very thin, narrow high heels often worn at formal events. Platform shoes have a thick sole under the front of the foot as well as a raised heel, so the total height is greater but the wearer's foot is less tilted. Heeled is the broadest term, covering any shoe whose heel is raised, from a low kitten heel to a tall stiletto. Flat is the direct opposite, describing shoes with no raised heel at all. For example, you might wear high-heeled boots to a dinner party, stiletto pumps to a formal dance, and platform heels if you want height without the steep angle.

high-heeled ↗stilettoplatform ↗heeledflat ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • shoes
  • boots
  • sandals
  • pumps
  • heels

Phrases

  • a pair of high-heeled shoes
  • high-heeled footwear

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Formed by combining 'high' (from Old English heah, meaning tall) and 'heeled' (from 'heel', the back part of the foot, from Old English hela). The compound has been used since at least the 1600s to describe the fashionable elevated shoes worn by European nobility.