heel vs rearward

heel

noun
  • The last or lowest part of anything. 

  • The act of inclining or canting from a vertical position; a cant. 

  • A woman's high-heeled shoe. 

  • Anything resembling a human heel in shape; a protuberance; a knob. 

  • The base of a bun sliced in half lengthwise. 

  • The part of a shoe's sole which supports the foot's heel. 

  • The short side of an angled cut. 

  • A headlining wrestler regarded as a "bad guy," whose ring persona embodies villainous or reprehensible traits and demonstrates characteristics of a braggart and a bully. 

  • The rear part of a sock or similar covering for the foot. 

  • In a carding machine, the part of a flat nearest the cylinder. 

  • The junction between the keel and the stempost of a vessel; an angular wooden join connecting the two. 

  • A contemptible, unscrupulous, inconsiderate or thoughtless person. 

  • The part of a club head's face nearest the shaft. 

  • The obtuse angle of the lower end of a rafter set sloping. 

  • The lower end of the bit (cutting edge) of an axehead; as opposed to the toe (upper end). 

  • The rear part of the foot, where it joins the leg. 

  • The back, upper part of the stock. 

  • The part of the palm of a hand closest to the wrist. 

  • The cards set aside for later use in a patience or solitaire game. 

  • A crust end-piece of a loaf of bread. 

  • The lower end of a timber in a frame, as a post or rafter. 

verb
  • To add a heel to, or increase the size of the heel of (a shoe or boot). 

  • To incline to one side; to tilt. 

  • To arm with a gaff, as a cock for fighting. 

  • To follow at somebody's heels; to chase closely. 

  • To perform by the use of the heels, as in dancing, running, etc. 

  • To hit (the ball) with the heel of the club. 

  • To make (a fair catch) standing with one foot forward, the heel on the ground and the toe up. 

  • To kick with the heel. 

rearward

noun
  • The part that comes last or is situated in the rear; conclusion, wind-up. 

  • The last troop; the rear of an army; a rear guard. 

adv
  • Toward the back or rear of something. 

adj
  • Toward the back or rear of something. 

How often have the words heel and rearward occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )