heeded; heeding; heeds
: to pay attention
: to give consideration or attention to : mind
heed what he says
heed the call
Synonyms
Examples of heed in a Sentence
Verb
It may be possible to desensitize a cat to being petted for extended periods. … A safer solution is to consistently limit petting time, and to heed the cat's cues that she's had enough.
—
Cat Watch, August 2008
In-line skating is not for everyone, and even those for whom it is ideally suited can skate into trouble, especially if they fail to heed safety precautions.
—Jane E. Brody, New York Times, 2 May 1991
However, he should heed an axiom from the pretelevision age: physician, heal thyself.
—George F. Will, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 1986
She failed to heed the warnings.
if we had heeded the ranger's advice, we might not have gotten lost
Noun
Neither the British ministry nor the British Parliament welcomed American voices in determining policy in 1763, or ever. The British government paid little heed to the public press on either side of the water.
—Edmund S. Morgan, New York Review of Books, 16 Nov. 2006
She retrained as a doctor and it was through her pioneering research with cancer patients in the early 1960s (she showed how narcotics could be used without adverse effect) that the medical profession began to take heed.
—Kate Kellaway, Prospect, January 2003
Imagine swimming along with playful seals and then diving down to see such rarities as batfish. … Fleets of hammerhead sharks pay divers no heed, nor do the penguins move out of the way.
—Town & Country, January 1983
took heed of the student's learning disability so as to arrive at reasonable expectations for him
pay heed to what you're doing with that knife while you're talking
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Cat Watch, August 2008
In-line skating is not for everyone, and even those for whom it is ideally suited can skate into trouble, especially if they fail to heed safety precautions.
—Jane E. Brody, New York Times, 2 May 1991
However, he should heed an axiom from the pretelevision age: physician, heal thyself.
—George F. Will, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 1986
She failed to heed the warnings.
if we had heeded the ranger's advice, we might not have gotten lost
Noun
Neither the British ministry nor the British Parliament welcomed American voices in determining policy in 1763, or ever. The British government paid little heed to the public press on either side of the water.
—Edmund S. Morgan, New York Review of Books, 16 Nov. 2006
She retrained as a doctor and it was through her pioneering research with cancer patients in the early 1960s (she showed how narcotics could be used without adverse effect) that the medical profession began to take heed.
—Kate Kellaway, Prospect, January 2003
Imagine swimming along with playful seals and then diving down to see such rarities as batfish. … Fleets of hammerhead sharks pay divers no heed, nor do the penguins move out of the way.
—Town & Country, January 1983
took heed of the student's learning disability so as to arrive at reasonable expectations for him
pay heed to what you're doing with that knife while you're talking
See More
Recent Examples on the WebNajib Jobain, Bassem Mroue, and Samy Magdy, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Nov. 2023
Among them are hundreds of thousands of people who heeded Israel's calls to evacuate Gaza City and the north to get out of the way of its ground offensive.
—Wafaa Shurafa, arkansasonline.com, 18 Nov. 2023
Bass thanked the public for heeding officials' requests to try and reduce traffic by taking the Metro or telecommuting, and for staying off the side streets and on the highways.
—Jolie Lash, ABC News, 17 Nov. 2023
But in practice, those who are too wounded or infirm to move have been unable to heed that call.
—Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2023
Perhaps the most reliable path to genuine restoration of our planet is to heed the wisdom of Indigenous communities around the world who look upon other life-forms as relatives instead of resources.
—Chirag Dhara, Scientific American, 8 Nov. 2023
The fans heeded his call, though I’m told the scene was even more chaotic on opening day.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2023
But some countries have heeded the research and begun to include boys in their vaccination drives.
—Grace Browne, WIRED, 20 Oct. 2023
More than two-thirds of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have fled their homes since the war began, with hundreds of thousands heeding Israeli orders to flee to the southern part of the enclave.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 10 Nov. 2023
Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2023
The Dolphins paid little heed to Tua’s massive injury issues with powerful Alabama and now have seen numerous injuries hit him across three seasons.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2023
His opponent, the former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe, had paid little heed to the schools issue.
—Charles Homans, New York Times, 5 Aug. 2023
And like imperial Germany a century earlier, Russia paid little heed to the potentially catastrophic costs if things did not go as planned.
—Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 12 June 2023
After losing his sister to water toxicity, Miller posted a warning on July 26 for families to take heed.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2023
Reward operators, take heed: The data collected via loyalty memberships is essential not just for knowing the where and how of member spending, but also the importance of when.
—Jenn McMillen, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2022
But take heed: Reading about these scary haunted house stories in the dark or by yourself is likely to keep you up all night (as was the case for me), but the fascinating backstories are well worth the thrill.
—Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 22 June 2023
This year, officials are warning everyone to take heed, especially those who have safely dipped in a river during normal years and may feel overconfident.
—Jill Cowan, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2023
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Verb
Strikes continue Israel has signaled plans to expand its offensive south, where most of Gaza’s population is now sheltering, including hundreds of thousands of people who heeded Israel’s calls to evacuate Gaza City and the north ahead of its ground offensive.
—Najib Jobain, Bassem Mroue, and Samy Magdy, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Nov. 2023
Among them are hundreds of thousands of people who heeded Israel's calls to evacuate Gaza City and the north to get out of the way of its ground offensive.
—Wafaa Shurafa, arkansasonline.com, 18 Nov. 2023
Bass thanked the public for heeding officials' requests to try and reduce traffic by taking the Metro or telecommuting, and for staying off the side streets and on the highways.
—Jolie Lash, ABC News, 17 Nov. 2023
But in practice, those who are too wounded or infirm to move have been unable to heed that call.
—Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2023
Perhaps the most reliable path to genuine restoration of our planet is to heed the wisdom of Indigenous communities around the world who look upon other life-forms as relatives instead of resources.
—Chirag Dhara, Scientific American, 8 Nov. 2023
The fans heeded his call, though I’m told the scene was even more chaotic on opening day.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2023
But some countries have heeded the research and begun to include boys in their vaccination drives.
—Grace Browne, WIRED, 20 Oct. 2023
More than two-thirds of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have fled their homes since the war began, with hundreds of thousands heeding Israeli orders to flee to the southern part of the enclave.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 10 Nov. 2023
Noun
The Rez Dogs seem to pay little heed to conventional milestones like birthdays, dances, or graduation—their most meaningful social gatherings are the funerals of elders.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2023
The Dolphins paid little heed to Tua’s massive injury issues with powerful Alabama and now have seen numerous injuries hit him across three seasons.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2023
His opponent, the former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe, had paid little heed to the schools issue.
—Charles Homans, New York Times, 5 Aug. 2023
And like imperial Germany a century earlier, Russia paid little heed to the potentially catastrophic costs if things did not go as planned.
—Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 12 June 2023
After losing his sister to water toxicity, Miller posted a warning on July 26 for families to take heed.
—Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2023
Reward operators, take heed: The data collected via loyalty memberships is essential not just for knowing the where and how of member spending, but also the importance of when.
—Jenn McMillen, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2022
But take heed: Reading about these scary haunted house stories in the dark or by yourself is likely to keep you up all night (as was the case for me), but the fascinating backstories are well worth the thrill.
—Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 22 June 2023
This year, officials are warning everyone to take heed, especially those who have safely dipped in a river during normal years and may feel overconfident.
—Jill Cowan, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English, from Old English hēdan; akin to Old High German huota guard, Old English hōd hood
First Known Use
Verb
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of heed was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing heed
Dictionary Entries Near heed
Cite this Entry
“Heed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heed. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
heed
2 of 2 noun
More from Merriam-Webster on heed
Nglish: Translation of heed for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of heed for Arabic Speakers
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