variants or down-at-heel or less commonly down-at-the-heel or down-at-heels
: shabby

Examples of down-at-the-heels in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Born 200 years ago in Wales to intellectually curious but down-at-the-heels parents, Wallace was forced to leave school at age 14. Jennie Erin Smith, wsj.com, 14 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'down-at-the-heels.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1856, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of down-at-the-heels was in 1856

Dictionary Entries Near down-at-the-heels

Cite this Entry

“Down-at-the-heels.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down-at-the-heels. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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