verb
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to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts
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Also: hackle. hatchel. (tr) to comb (hemp or flax)
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of heckle
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English hekelen, variant of hechelen “to comb flax”; akin to hackle 1, hatchel
Explanation
To heckle is to challenge or harass someone. At a sporting event, fans sometimes heckle the opposing team, but it’s not very respectable behavior. One of the many challenges of being a stand-up comedian is dealing with people harassing you from the audience. Those people are heckling. While heckling in a comedy club is not all that unusual, it’s still rude. If you choose to heckle someone, whether they are a comic or anyone else, be prepared to be heckled back — or worse.
Vocabulary lists containing heckle
One of Us Is Lying
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Yada Yada Yada
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Monday's Not Coming
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nina Heckle taught us ninth-grade English the way I imagine Vince Lombardi taught football.
From Washington Post • Apr. 8, 2020
“Some sports people call me Dr. Heckle and Mr. Snide,” Healy said in a Sports Illustrated profile in 1978.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2019
Heckle using #guardianmexico, and if you’re able to include a live photo, we’ll feature it in the liveblog.
From The Guardian • Nov. 9, 2015
More than 300,000 people are expected at this year's event Today, it is organised by Liverpool City Council but Cavern Club directors Mr Jones and Bill Heckle remain in charge of the artistic content.
From BBC • Aug. 25, 2012
Heckle became Hirohito writing letters about love and go-karts, and Jeckle became me and wrote back in letters about love and Jackie Jackson.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
