on the heels of

on the heels of (someone or something)

Following close behind or soon after someone or something. Look, the cops are hard on the heels of the bank robbers! The new revelation comes on the heels of the previous scandal.

See also: heel, of, on

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

on the heels of something

Fig. soon after something. There was a rainstorm on the heels of the windstorm. The team held a victory celebration on the heels of their winning season.

See also: heel, of, on

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

on the heels of

Also, hard on the heels of. Directly behind, immediately following, as in Mom's birthday comes on the heels of Mother's Day, or Hard on the heels of the flood there was a tornado. The hard in the variant acts as an intensifier, giving it the sense of "close on the heels of". [Early 1800s] Also see at one's heels.

See also: heel, of, on

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.