heck

¹ American  

[hek] / hɛk /

interjection

1. (used as a mild expression of annoyance, rejection, disgust, etc.).

   What the heck do you care?

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noun

1. something remarkable of its kind (usually used in the phraseheck of a ).

   That was a heck of an impressive speech. Have one heck of a good time.

idioms

1. as heck (used as a mild intensifier).

   I say he's guilty as heck.

heck ² American  

[hek] / hɛk /

noun

1. a comblike attachment on a loom, for guiding the warp threads as they are dressed for the warp beam.

2. a device that guides yarn onto the bobbin of a spinning wheel.

3. a gridlike arrangement of glass or metal rods below the hooks on a Jacquard loom, used for lifting all harness eyes equally or evenly.

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heck ¹ British  

/ hɛk /

interjection

1. a mild exclamation of surprise, irritation, etc

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heck ² British  

/ hɛk /

noun

1. dialect a frame for obstructing the passage of fish in a river

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Etymology

Origin of heck¹

First recorded in 1850–55; euphemistic alteration of hell

Origin of heck²

1300–50; Middle English hekke, Old English hecc, variant of hæcc hatch ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heck

But I was in a heck of a position with my parents because I never really thought they were wrong about anything, and I still don’t.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

How the heck was I going to follow that?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

It will “cost a heck of a lot of capital” to achieve SpaceX’s vision for everything from AI to competing in mobile internet services.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

It’s hot as heck in Europe right now.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

I can feel Autumn’s finger pulse, as if asking me what the heck is going on.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer