"take to one's heels" meaning in English

See take to one's heels in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-take to one's heels.ogg Forms: takes to one's heels [present, singular, third-person], taking to one's heels [participle, present], took to one's heels [past], taken to one's heels [participle, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|take<,,took,taken> to one's heels}} take to one's heels (third-person singular simple present takes to one's heels, present participle taking to one's heels, simple past took to one's heels, past participle taken to one's heels)
  1. (idiomatic) To leave, especially to flee or run away. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: make tracks Related terms: take to the hills Translations (to flee or run away): плюя си на петите (pljuja si na petite) (Bulgarian), vzít nohy na ramena (Czech), ottaa hatkat (Finnish), prendre ses jambes à son cou (French), sich davonmachen (German), sich aus dem Staub machen (German), die Beine in die Hand nehmen (German), Reißaus nehmen (German), το βάζω στα πόδια (to vázo sta pódia) (Greek), नौ दो ग्यारह होना (nau do gyārah honā) (Hindi), taka til fótanna (Icelandic), taka á rás (Icelandic), wziąć nogi za pas (Polish), brać nogi za pas [imperfective] (Polish), pôr os pés em polvorosa (Portuguese), a-și lua picioarele la spinare (Romanian), a o lua la sănătoasa (Romanian), podbrusiti pete [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), apretar los talones (Spanish), salir en carrera (Spanish), poner pies en polvorosa (Spanish), darse a la fuga (Spanish), מאַכן פּליטה (makhn pleyte) (Yiddish), נעמען די פֿיס אויף די פּלייצעס (nemen di fis oyf di pleytses) (Yiddish)

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes to one's heels",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking to one's heels",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took to one's heels",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken to one's heels",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> to one's heels"
      },
      "expansion": "take to one's heels (third-person singular simple present takes to one's heels, present participle taking to one's heels, simple past took to one's heels, past participle taken to one's heels)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
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        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1839, Charles Dickens, chapter 10, in Oliver Twist:",
          "text": "[T]hen, confused and frightened, he took to his heels; and, not knowing what he did, made off as fast as he could lay his feet to the ground.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1908, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 26, in In the South Seas:",
          "text": "Of a sudden, however, a man broke from their company, took to his heels, and fled into the church.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1955 July 4, “Art: Patriot Painter”, in Time:",
          "text": "After returning the fire three times, Peale's men saw the enemy formed near the college take to their heels.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Dr Oliver Akamnonu, Arranged Marriage and the Vanishing Roots, →ISBN, page 81:",
          "text": "Often tax defaulters would take to their heels on sighting the tax collectors.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To leave, especially to flee or run away."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_to_one's_heels-en-verb-yqncEmUa",
      "links": [
        [
          "leave",
          "leave"
        ],
        [
          "flee",
          "flee"
        ],
        [
          "run away",
          "run away"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To leave, especially to flee or run away."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "take to the hills"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "make tracks"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "pljuja si na petite",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "плюя си на петите"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "vzít nohy na ramena"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "ottaa hatkat"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "prendre ses jambes à son cou"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "sich davonmachen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "sich aus dem Staub machen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "die Beine in die Hand nehmen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "Reißaus nehmen"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "to vázo sta pódia",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "το βάζω στα πόδια"
        },
        {
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "roman": "nau do gyārah honā",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "नौ दो ग्यारह होना"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "taka til fótanna"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "taka á rás"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "wziąć nogi za pas"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "brać nogi za pas"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "pôr os pés em polvorosa"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "a-și lua picioarele la spinare"
        },
        {
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "a o lua la sănătoasa"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "навостри́ть лы́жи pf (navostrítʹ lýži, literally “sharpen one's skis”)",
          "sense": "to flee or run away"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "взять но́ги в ру́ки pf (vzjatʹ nógi v rúki, literally “take one's legs into one's hands”)",
          "sense": "to flee or run away"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "podbrusiti pete"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "apretar los talones"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "salir en carrera"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "poner pies en polvorosa"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "darse a la fuga"
        },
        {
          "code": "yi",
          "lang": "Yiddish",
          "roman": "makhn pleyte",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "מאַכן פּליטה"
        },
        {
          "code": "yi",
          "lang": "Yiddish",
          "roman": "nemen di fis oyf di pleytses",
          "sense": "to flee or run away",
          "word": "נעמען די פֿיס אויף די פּלייצעס"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-take to one's heels.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/En-au-take_to_one%27s_heels.ogg/En-au-take_to_one%27s_heels.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/En-au-take_to_one%27s_heels.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take to one's heels"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes to one's heels",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking to one's heels",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took to one's heels",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken to one's heels",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> to one's heels"
      },
      "expansion": "take to one's heels (third-person singular simple present takes to one's heels, present participle taking to one's heels, simple past took to one's heels, past participle taken to one's heels)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "take to the hills"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English light verb constructions",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Greek translations",
        "Terms with Hindi translations",
        "Terms with Icelandic translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Romanian translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Yiddish translations",
        "Yiddish terms with non-redundant manual transliterations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1839, Charles Dickens, chapter 10, in Oliver Twist:",
          "text": "[T]hen, confused and frightened, he took to his heels; and, not knowing what he did, made off as fast as he could lay his feet to the ground.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1908, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 26, in In the South Seas:",
          "text": "Of a sudden, however, a man broke from their company, took to his heels, and fled into the church.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1955 July 4, “Art: Patriot Painter”, in Time:",
          "text": "After returning the fire three times, Peale's men saw the enemy formed near the college take to their heels.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Dr Oliver Akamnonu, Arranged Marriage and the Vanishing Roots, →ISBN, page 81:",
          "text": "Often tax defaulters would take to their heels on sighting the tax collectors.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To leave, especially to flee or run away."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "leave",
          "leave"
        ],
        [
          "flee",
          "flee"
        ],
        [
          "run away",
          "run away"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To leave, especially to flee or run away."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "audio": "En-au-take to one's heels.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/20/En-au-take_to_one%27s_heels.ogg/En-au-take_to_one%27s_heels.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/En-au-take_to_one%27s_heels.ogg"
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "make tracks"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "pljuja si na petite",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "плюя си на петите"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "vzít nohy na ramena"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "ottaa hatkat"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "prendre ses jambes à son cou"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "sich davonmachen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "sich aus dem Staub machen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "die Beine in die Hand nehmen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "Reißaus nehmen"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "to vázo sta pódia",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "το βάζω στα πόδια"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "roman": "nau do gyārah honā",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "नौ दो ग्यारह होना"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "taka til fótanna"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "taka á rás"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "wziąć nogi za pas"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "brać nogi za pas"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "pôr os pés em polvorosa"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "a-și lua picioarele la spinare"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "a o lua la sănătoasa"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "навостри́ть лы́жи pf (navostrítʹ lýži, literally “sharpen one's skis”)",
      "sense": "to flee or run away"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "взять но́ги в ру́ки pf (vzjatʹ nógi v rúki, literally “take one's legs into one's hands”)",
      "sense": "to flee or run away"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "podbrusiti pete"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "apretar los talones"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "salir en carrera"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "poner pies en polvorosa"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "darse a la fuga"
    },
    {
      "code": "yi",
      "lang": "Yiddish",
      "roman": "makhn pleyte",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "מאַכן פּליטה"
    },
    {
      "code": "yi",
      "lang": "Yiddish",
      "roman": "nemen di fis oyf di pleytses",
      "sense": "to flee or run away",
      "word": "נעמען די פֿיס אויף די פּלייצעס"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take to one's heels"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (bb46d54 and 0c3c9f6). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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