down-at-the-heels
adjective
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
the stately mansion where he lives now is a far cry from the down-at-the-heels triple-decker in which he grew up
Recent Examples on the Web
The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel Photo: Courtesy of Tribeca Festival
How did a 1970s British soccer star disappear without a trace at the peak of his career and, years later, end up managing a down-at-the-heels West Hollywood motel in obscurity?
—
Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 13 June 2025
By late 2015, the otherwise down-at-the-heels Quebec shipyard was awarded a contract for modification of the MV Asterix, an auxiliary replenishment vessel.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 21 June 2024
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
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Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 13 June 2025
By late 2015, the otherwise down-at-the-heels Quebec shipyard was awarded a contract for modification of the MV Asterix, an auxiliary replenishment vessel.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 21 June 2024
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
Cite this Entry
“Down-at-the-heels.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down-at-the-heels. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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