parliamentary heel

noun

A maintenance manoeuvre for sailing vessels during the Age of Sail — similar to careening — during which weight (such as ballast, guns or crew) is shifted to one side of the vessel to make it heel; thereby providing relatively quick access to the underside of the vessel for cleaning or repair at low expense.

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Meanings

parliamentary heel1

nounparliamentary heel (plural parliamentary heels)

plural parliamentary heels

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Parliamentary heel.

Parliamentary heel2

nounParliamentary heel (plural Parliamentary heels)

plural Parliamentary heels

  1. historicalnauticalA maintenance manoeuvre for sailing vessels during the Age of Sail — similar to careening — during which weight (such as ballast, guns or crew) is shifted to one side of the vessel to make it heel; thereby providing relatively quick access to the underside of the vessel for cleaning or repair at low expense.
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see parliamentary, heel.
Cite this entry
APA

parliamentary heel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parliamentary%20heel

MLA

“parliamentary heel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parliamentary%20heel. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parliamentary heel,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parliamentary%20heel.

Source: parliamentary heel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.