Meanings
plural Tar Heels · alternative Tar heel · alternative Tarheel · alternative tarheel
- USslangSynonym of North Carolinian.
I'm a Tar Heel born I'm a Tar Heel bred And when I die I'm a Tar Heel dead.
Synonyms: North Carolinian
- USslangA person associated with or supportive of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Michael Jordan is one of many Tar Heel basketball standouts.
alternative Tar heel · alternative Tarheel · alternative tarheel
- A small town in Bladen County, North Carolina.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of North Carolinian.
Origin
North Carolina was associated with tar (of which it was a major producer) from the 1700s onwards, and residents were (at first derisively) called "Tarboilers" since at least the 1840s; "Tar Heel" is first attested in 1863 in comments by Confederate soldiers which suggest it was already in common use at that time. One popular theory suggests it refers to North Carolinians having tar on their heels to make them "stick", referring either to their reluctance to join the Confederacy, or to their holding ground during battles when other states' troops retreated.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Tar Heel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tar%20Heel
“Tar Heel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tar%20Heel. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tar Heel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tar%20Heel.
Source: Tar Heel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.