on the heels of

English

on the heels of

(idiomatic) In close pursuit of; close behind.
- 1915, Jack London, Mutiny of the Elsinore, ch. 5:
  On the heels of the little lop-sided man appeared an overgrown dolt of a fat youth, followed by another youth.
- 2001, Yonatan Netanyahu, The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu, →ISBN, page 288 (Google preview):
  [T]he men got out quickly, the first ones running on the heels of those who had gotten out of the Mercedes.
(idiomatic, of events, facts, etc.) Closely following; in succession immediately after.
- 1603, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 4, sc. 7:
  One woe doth tread upon another's heel.
- 1643, John Milton, The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, book 2, ch. 4 (Google preview):
  To avoid these dreadful consequences, that tread upon the heels of those allowances to sin, will be a task of far more difficulty.
- 1872, Mark Twain, Roughing It, ch. 77:
  [A] familiar voice chimed instantly in on the heels of my last word.
- 1917, Upton Sinclair, King Coal, ch. 32:
  [W]hen such accidents kept happening, one on the heels of another, even the most callous public could not help asking questions.
- 2012 Oct. 13, "Pakistan’s politics: The peace and love tour," The Economist:
  As it happened, the shooting came on the heels of a two-day “peace march” against American drone aircraft targeting suspected Islamist militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas close to the border with Afghanistan.

Commonly preceded by such verbs as follow, tread, come.

in close pursuit of