hellhole
Americannoun
-
a place totally lacking in comfort, cleanliness, order, etc.
-
a place or establishment noted for its illegal or immoral practices.
noun
Etymology
Origin of hellhole
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at hell, hole
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.
A consistent message emerged: Los Angeles was not a beautiful, vibrant metropolis with serious problems, but a hellhole verging on being lost for good.
From Slate • Jun. 9, 2026
And no, San Francisco isn’t the hellhole that some influencers and cable-TV pontificators describe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
One can only imagine what's happening to them in that dystopian hellhole of a prison.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2025
Columnists Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria took it all in before dashing to catch their flights home to California, that place haters depict as a stinking hellhole.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2024
I guess trading away your prime of life is a fair price for somebody flying you out of that hellhole.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
