Meanings
plural heelwalkers
- Any of the order Mantophasmatodea of carnivorous, wingless insects that superficially resemble a cross between praying mantises and phasmids.
The gladiator heelwalker (Tyrannophasma gladiator) is a ferocious nocturnal predator. It uses both front and middle legs to grab and crush its spider and insect prey.
2007, Naskrecki, Piotr, The smaller majority : the hidden world of the animals that dominate the tropics, page 2471 more example
Heelwalkers possess a highly modified tarsal attachment system. All extant species lift the distalmost tarsomere permanently off the substrate and primarily use their euplantulae for locomotion.
2024 October 25, “Diversity of attachment systems in heelwalkers (Mantophasmatodea) – highly specialized, but uniform”, in bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.comSynonyms: gladiator, rock crawler
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny of the order Mantophasmatodea of carnivorous, wingless insects that superficially resemble a cross between praying mantises and phasmids.
Origin
Compound of heel + walker, from the fact that these insects have a habit of walking with the tips of their feet held up in the air.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
heelwalker. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heelwalker
“heelwalker.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heelwalker. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heelwalker,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heelwalker.
Source: heelwalker on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.