hell

¹

[ hel ]

noun

1. the place or state of punishment of the wicked after death; the abode of evil and condemned spirits; Gehenna or Tartarus.

   Synonyms: inferno

   Antonyms: paradise, heaven

2. any place or state of torment or misery:

   They made their father's life a hell on earth.

   Synonyms: torture, agony, anguish

   Antonyms: paradise, heaven

3. something that causes torment or misery:

   Having that cut stitched without anesthesia was hell.

4. the powers of evil.
5. the abode of the dead; Sheol or Hades.
6. extreme disorder or confusion; chaos:

   The children let both dogs into the house, and all hell broke loose.

7. Informal. something remarkable of its kind (usually used in the phrase a hell of a or one hell of a ):

   That was one hell of a great game.

8. a receptacle into which a tailor throws scraps.
9. Also called hellbox. Printing. a box into which a printer throws discarded type.
10. the utterance of “hell” in swearing or for emphasis.
11. the hell, Informal.
    1. (used as an intensifier to express surprise, anger, impatience, etc., often in the form of a question beginning with a WH-word):

       Why the hell can't the trains run on time?

       How the hell am I supposed to finish this by tomorrow?

    2. (used sarcastically or ironically to express the opposite of what is being stated):

       Are you listening to me? The hell you are!

interjection

1. (used to express surprise, irritation, disgust, etc.)

verb phrase

1. Slang. to live or act in a wild or dissolute manner:

   All they cared about was drinking and helling around.

he'll

²

[ heel; unstressed eel, hil, il ]

1. contraction of he will.

hell

¹

/ hɛl /

noun

1. Christianity sometimes capital
   1. the place or state of eternal punishment of the wicked after death, with Satan as its ruler
   2. forces of evil regarded as residing there
2. See Sheol, Hades, Hel
   sometimes capital (in various religions and cultures) the abode of the spirits of the dead See also Hel Hades Sheol
3. pain, extreme difficulty, etc
4. informal.
   a cause of such difficulty or suffering

   war is hell

5. high spirits or mischievousness

   there's hell in that boy

6. a box used by a tailor for discarded material
7. rare.
   a gambling house, booth, etc
8. as hell
   as hell (intensifier)

   tired as hell

9. for the hell of it informal.
   for the hell of it for the fun of it
10. from hell informal.
    from hell denoting a person or thing that is particularly bad or alarming

    neighbour from hell

    hangover from hell

11. give someone hell informal.
    give someone hell
    1. to give someone a severe reprimand or punishment
    2. to be a source of annoyance or torment to someone
12. hell of a informal.
    hell of ahelluva (intensifier)

    a hell of a good performance

13. hell for leather
    hell for leather at great speed
14. hell or high water informal.
    hell or high watercome hell or high water whatever difficulties may arise
15. hell to pay informal.
    hell to pay serious consequences, as of a foolish action
16. like hell informal.
    like hell
    1. adverb (intensifier)

       he works like hell

    2. an expression of strong disagreement with a previous statement, request, order, etc
17. play hell with informal.
    play hell withplay merry hell with to throw into confusion and disorder; disrupt
18. raise hell
    raise hell
    1. to create a noisy disturbance, as in fun
    2. to react strongly and unfavourably
19. the hell informal.
    the hell

    the hell I will

    1. (intensifier) used in such phrases as what the hell, who the hell, etc
    2. an expression of strong disagreement or disfavour

interjection

1. informal.
   an exclamation of anger, annoyance, surprise, etc (Also in exclamations such as hell's bells, hell's teeth, etc)

he'll

²

/ iːl; hɪl; ɪl; hiːl /

contraction of

1. he will or he shall

hell

1. The dwelling place of Satan , devils , and wicked souls condemned to eternal punishment after death; a place of pain and torment. ( Compare heaven .)

Usage Note

See contraction.

Other Words From

• hell-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hell¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English hel(l); cognate with Old High German hell(i)a ( German Hölle ), Old Norse hel, Gothic halja; akin to Old English helan “to cover, hide,” and to hull ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of hell¹

Old English hell; related to helan to cover, Old Norse hel, Gothic halja hell, Old High German hella

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. be hell on, Slang.
   1. to be unpleasant to or painful for:

      These shoes are hell on my poor feet.

   2. to be harmful to:

      These country roads are hell on tires.

2. for the hell of it, Informal.
   1. to see what will happen; for adventure, fun, excitement, etc.:

      For the hell of it, let's just get on the next bus and see where it takes us.

   2. with no particular purpose; for no special reason:

      I called him up for the hell of it, and he offered me a job.

3. get / catch hell, Slang. to suffer a scolding; receive a harsh reprimand:

   We'll get hell from our parents if we stay out late again.

4. give someone hell, Informal. to reprimand or reproach severely.
5. go to hell in a handbasket, Informal. handbasket ( def 2 ).
6. hell on wheels, Slang. extremely demanding, fast-paced, aggressive, effective, or the like:

   The new job is hell on wheels. Our sales staff is hell on wheels when it comes to getting the most out of every account.

7. like hell, Informal.
   1. with great speed, effort, intensity, etc.:

      We ran like hell to get home before the storm. She tried like hell to get him to change his mind.

   2. (used sarcastically or ironically to express the opposite of what is being stated):

      He says the motor will never break down? Like hell it won't!

8. play hell with, Slang. to deal recklessly with; bring injury or harm to:

   Snowstorms played hell with the flow of city traffic.

9. raise hell, Slang.
   1. to indulge in wild celebration.
   2. to create an uproar; object violently to:

      She'll raise hell when she sees what your rabbit has done to her garden.

10. the / to hell with, Informal. (used to express dismissal, rejection, contempt, disappointment, or the like):

    If we have to walk five miles to see the view, the hell with it! He wouldn't even speak to me, so to hell with him!

11. what the hell, Informal. (used to express lack of concern or worry, indifference, abandonment, surrender, etc.):

    As long as you're borrowing $100, what the hell, borrow $200.

More idioms and phrases containing hell

• (all hell) break loose
• devil (hell) of a
• for the hell of it
• give someone hell
• go to hell
• hot as hell
• like a bat out of hell
• like hell
• mad as a hornet (hell)
• not a hope in hell
• raise Cain (hell)
• road to hell is paved with good intentions
• shot to hell
• snowball's chance in hell
• till hell freezes over
• to hell and gone
• to hell with
• what the hell

Example Sentences

It won’t solve the problem, but it will sure as hell lower the temperature.

From Ozy

Given the state of misinformation globally, he has a hell of a repair job ahead.

From Ozy

In the second movie, which came out in 1991, Bill and Ted end up on a “bogus journey” that takes them, for whatever reason, to the afterlife — both hell and heaven.

From Vox

Venus is also very similar to Earth in size and composition, yet somehow it has turned into a hell planet.

From Nautilus

Doing good and doing well cannot be mutually exclusive for us to have a chance in hell at creating the world that we want to live in.

From Fortune

Hell, he says Koenig never referred to it as Serial or even as a podcast.

From The Daily Beast

The revelation that, at age 42, Ben Affleck has one hell of an ass.

From The Daily Beast

How the hell does somebody show up at a David Duke organized event in 2002 and claim ignorance?

From The Daily Beast

Hell, one of the Dixie Chicks even offered to Uber her balls over to the company.

From The Daily Beast

And, the Chilbosan would make a hell of a comedy movie; “Fawlty Towers” meets the “Great Dictator.”

From The Daily Beast

They used to declare that every unbaptised baby would go to Hell and burn for ever in fire and brimstone.

From Project Gutenberg

The city hell hounds sprang to meet them and the slaughter of inoffensive Europeans began in Darya Gunj.

From Project Gutenberg

A gentleman does not call his opponents vipers and consign them to hell, but Jahveh is not under any such obligations.

From Project Gutenberg

Hell below was in an uproar to meet thee at thy coming, it stirred up the giants for thee.

From Project Gutenberg

To escape from these horrible theories, the Christians (some of them) have thrown over the doctrines of Hell and the Devil.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• inferno
• misery
• nightmare
• purgatory