under the heel of (someone)
idiom
: completely controlled by (another person, group, etc.)
They are under the heel of a tyrant.
Examples of under the heel of (someone) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the late 1970s, Argentina was under the heel of a military dictatorship.
—
Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2025
Crush of mint under the heel of a little girl
enjoying her small but definite powers.
—Elisa Gonzalez, Harper's Magazine, 20 Sep. 2023
This willful ignorance stems from our long-standing refusal to see the violent overthrow of Reconstruction governments, the systematic murdering of Black voters, and the century-long terror that kept an entire people under the heel of white tyranny as America’s own history of white dictatorship.
—Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, The New Republic, 23 Oct. 2020
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Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2025
Crush of mint under the heel of a little girl
enjoying her small but definite powers.
—Elisa Gonzalez, Harper's Magazine, 20 Sep. 2023
This willful ignorance stems from our long-standing refusal to see the violent overthrow of Reconstruction governments, the systematic murdering of Black voters, and the century-long terror that kept an entire people under the heel of white tyranny as America’s own history of white dictatorship.
—Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, The New Republic, 23 Oct. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Under the heel of (someone).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/under%20the%20heel%20of%20%28someone%29. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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