verb / noun

heed

HEED/hiːd/

Careful attention to something.

He heeds the warning and steps back from the broken bridge.

A young man visibly responds to an older woman's warning about a broken footbridge: her raised stop palm and pointing finger direct his attention to missing boards, while he withdraws his leading foot and shifts back toward safe ground.

Etymology

heedOld Englishto observe, attend, care for

Old English hēdan covered both paying attention and taking care of or protecting something. Heeding advice or warnings preserves that attentive-care sense: giving what is said careful regard.

In context

Academy of Ideas6:24

this dream to be a warning from the unconscious. He implored his colleague to take extra precautions on any future climbs or avoid them altogether. But the man did not heed the advice.

Carl Jung and the Psychology of Dreams - Messages from the Unconscious

More examples

She paid heed to the advice.
They heeded the signal.
He is heeding the instructions.

Forms

heed · heeds · heeded · heeding

Similar words

notice: Becomes aware without necessarily responding carefully.
observe: Pays attention or follows a rule.