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high-heeled shoe

high-heeled shoe

4 2.7
A shoe with a high heel that makes the heel higher than the toes
  • noun
  • /haɪ hɪld ʃu/
translation icon : zapato de tacón alto
  • After a while, my toes in the high-heeled shoes began to lose all sense of feeling.

And just the side of us was the ladies pocketbook and a high heel shoe and someone's sneaker with nobody with it.

Examples

  • We dressed up for dinner at the Maplewood Grill: skirts, purses, and high-heeled shoes.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • It was difficult to walk on the cobblestones in my new high-heeled shoes.

  • At the last moment, she took off the high-heeled shoes she had chosen and changed them for flat ones.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • On her feet were a pair of bright red high-heeled shoes.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I should add that since that evening, she has never worn high-heeled shoes again, at least in my presence.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Then I eased my feet into the high-heeled shoes, and when I stood up, I had my balance.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Then she changed into one of her mother's casual summer dresses and high-heeled shoes.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • When women in the fifties went out, it became an event: they wore hats and gloves and high-heeled shoes.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Fashionably dressed in a white dress and high-heeled shoes, a young woman walks behind her quite unencumbered.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Bobbie was wearing high-heeled shoes, and she braced herself on the counter with one gloved hand.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

shoe
vshigh-heeled shoe
1.0

A covering for the foot with a sole and often a heel

is specific about a tall raised heel rather than general foot coverings
high heels
vshigh-heeled shoe
51 2.7

Shoes for women with a raised back that lifts the back of the foot above the toes

is the singular form referring to one such footwear item
stiletto
vshigh-heeled shoe
17 4.8

A women's high shoe with a very thin heel

covers tall raised heels generally rather than only very thin heel styles
high heel
vshigh-heeled shoe
6 2.7

A woman's shoe that raises the back of the foot high

is not limited by gender, applying to any raised heel footwear

Antonyms

2.6

Shoes for women with no or very low heel

How High

stiletto
17 4.8
high-heeled shoe
4 2.7
flats
2.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

high-heeled + shoe

The meaning 'a shoe with a tall or raised heel' is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents 'high' (tall) + 'heeled' (having a heel) + 'shoe', so a learner who knows those words can readily infer the concept. This is a standard descriptive compound found across languages and follows normal English noun-modifier composition, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The name high-heeled shoe comes from the simple idea of raising the shoe's heel so the wearer stands higher. One popular story says riders first used raised heels to keep their feet steady on horses, and later the raised heel became a sign of 'status' and fashion, so today these shoes are mainly for style and to make the wearer look 'taller'.