Meaning & use
heel kicks
Last updated
Meanings
nounplural
An exercise in which you kick your heels up toward your buttocks, often done as a warm-up.
Grammar: Used with a plural verb: 'Heel kicks are good for warming up.' The singular is 'heel kick'.
Patterns
- do heel kicks
- heel kicks are ...
We did twenty heel kicks to warm up before the run.
Heel kicks help loosen your thigh muscles.
The coach told us to do heel kicks across the field.
nounplural
A kick made with the heel of the foot, especially in sports or dancing.
Grammar: Used when talking about multiple kicks; the singular 'heel kick' is more common for one kick.
Patterns
- heel kicks in (a sport/dance)
The dancer performed a series of quick heel kicks.
His heel kicks were powerful but inaccurate.
Word forms
| singular | heel kick |
|---|
Common combinations
- do heel kicks
- The trainer made us do heel kicks for five minutes.
- heel kicks warm-up
- Start with some heel kicks warm-up before lifting weights.
- perform heel kicks
- The dancers performed heel kicks in perfect rhythm.
- set of heel kicks
- I finished three sets of heel kicks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- butt kicks
- Another common name for the same warm-up exercise, focusing on kicking your heels toward your buttocks.
Word family
- heel kick noun
- Singular form, referring to one kick or one repetition.
Commonly confused: heel kicks or high kicks?
heel kicks vs high kicks
High kicks are kicks with the leg raised high in front, while heel kicks bring the heel up behind you toward your buttocks.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'heel kicks' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Heel kicks' are leg exercises, so sentence B is correct. Sentence An is wrong because heel kicks work the legs, not arms. Sentence C is wrong because 'heel kicks' is plural and not a shoe. Sentence D is wrong because 'heel kicks' are not footwear.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “heel kicks”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.