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heck

1
[ hek ]
/ hɛk /
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interjection
(used as a mild expression of annoyance, rejection, disgust, etc.): What the heck do you care?
noun
something remarkable of its kind (usually used in the phrase heck of a): That was a heck of an impressive speech. Have one heck of a good time.
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Idioms about heck

    as heck (used as a mild intensifier): I say he's guilty as heck.

Origin of heck

1
First recorded in 1850–55; euphemistic alteration of hell

Other definitions for heck (2 of 2)

heck2
[ hek ]
/ hɛk /

noun
a comblike attachment on a loom, for guiding the warp threads as they are dressed for the warp beam.
a device that guides yarn onto the bobbin of a spinning wheel.
a gridlike arrangement of glass or metal rods below the hooks on a Jacquard loom, used for lifting all harness eyes equally or evenly.

Origin of heck

2
1300–50; Middle English hekke,Old English hecc, variant of hécchatch2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use heck in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for heck (1 of 2)

heck1
/ (hɛk) /

interjection
a mild exclamation of surprise, irritation, etc

Word Origin for heck

C19: euphemistic for hell

British Dictionary definitions for heck (2 of 2)

heck2
/ (hɛk) /

noun
Northern English dialect a frame for obstructing the passage of fish in a river

Word Origin for heck

C14: variant of hatch ÂČ
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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