8 PHRASE If you dig your heels in or dig in your heels , you refuse to do something such as change your opinions or plans, especially when someone is trying very hard to make you do so. □ It was really the British who, by digging their heels in, prevented any last-minute deal.
9 PHRASE If you say that one event follows hard on the heels of another or hot on the heels of another, you mean that one happens very quickly or immediately after another. □ Unfortunately, bad news has come hard on the heels of good.
10 PHRASE If you say that someone is hot on your heels , you are emphasizing that they are chasing you and are not very far behind you. [EMPHASIS ] □ They sped through the American southwest with the law hot on their heels.
11 PHRASE If you are kicking your heels , you are having to wait around with nothing to do, so that you get bored or impatient. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ The authorities wouldn't grant us permission to fly all the way down to San Francisco, so I had to kick my heels at Tunis Airport.
12 PHRASE If you turn on your heel or spin on your heel , you suddenly turn round, especially because you are angry or surprised. □ He simply turned on his heel and walked away.
13 head over heels → see head
14 to drag your heels → see drag
hefty /he fti/ (heftier , heftiest )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Hefty means large in size, weight, or amount. [INFORMAL ] □ She was quite a hefty woman. □ If he is found guilty he faces a hefty fine.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A hefty movement is done with a lot of force. [INFORMAL ] □ Lambert gave Luckwell a hefty shove to send him on his way.
he|gemo|ny /h I ge məni, [AM ] -dʒe m-/ N‑UNCOUNT Hegemony is a situation in which one country, organization, or group has more power, control, or importance than others. [FORMAL ]
heh /he / EXCLAM You can use heh , especially in electronic communication, to show that you are amused by something. □ Great comments on this site so far, especially about Bob (heh heh)!
heif|er /he fə r / (heifers ) N‑COUNT A heifer is a young cow that has not yet had a calf.
height ◆◇◇ /ha I t/ (heights )
1 N‑VAR [oft with poss] The height of a person or thing is their size or length from the bottom to the top. □ I am 5'6'' in height. □ The wave here has a length of 250 feet and a height of 10 feet. □ He was a man of medium height.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Height is the quality of being tall. □ She admits that her height is intimidating for some men.
3 N‑VAR A particular height is the distance that something is above the ground or above something else mentioned. □ …a test in which a 6.3 kilogram weight was dropped on it from a height of 1 metre.
4 N‑COUNT A height is a high position or place above the ground. □ I'm not afraid of heights.
5 N‑SING When an activity, situation, or organization is at its height , it is at its most successful, powerful, or intense. □ During the early sixth century emigration from Britain to Brittany was at its height.
6 N‑SING If you say that something is the height of a particular quality, you are emphasizing that it has that quality to the greatest degree possible. [EMPHASIS ] □ The hip-hugging black and white polka-dot dress was the height of fashion.
7 N‑PLURAL [oft adj N ] If something reaches great heights , it becomes very extreme or intense. □ …the mid-1980s, when house prices rose to absurd heights. [Also + of ] COLLOCATIONS height NOUN
1
adjective + height : full, maximum, minimum; average, medium, varying
height + be + adjective : adjustable
verb + height : adjust, lower, measure
7
adjective + height : dizzy, giddy, heady, lofty; great, new, unprecedented
verb + height : achieve, hit, reach, scale
height|en /ha I t ə n/ (heightens , heightening , heightened ) VERB If something heightens a feeling or if the feeling heightens , the feeling increases in degree or intensity. □ [V n] The move has heightened tension in the state. □ [V ] Cross's interest heightened. □ [V -ed] …a heightened awareness of the dangers that they now face.
hei|nous /he I nəs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something such as a crime as heinous , you mean that it is extremely evil or horrible. [FORMAL ] □ They are capable of the most heinous acts.
heir /eə r / (heirs ) N‑COUNT [oft with poss] An heir is someone who has the right to inherit a person's money, property, or title when that person dies. □ …the heir to the throne.
hei r ap|pa r|ent (heirs apparent ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] The heir apparent to a particular job or position is the person who is expected to have it after the person who has it now. [JOURNALISM ]
heir|ess /eə r I s/ (heiresses ) N‑COUNT An heiress is a woman or girl who has the right to inherit property or a title, or who has inherited it, especially when this involves great wealth. □ [+ to ] …the heiress to a jewellery empire.
heir|loom /eə r luːm/ (heirlooms ) N‑COUNT An heirloom is an ornament or other object that has belonged to a family for a very long time and that has been handed down from one generation to another.
heist /ha I st/ (heists ) N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A heist is a robbery, especially one in which money, jewellery, or art is stolen. [JOURNALISM ]