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Synonyms

heckle

American  
[hek-uhl] / ˈhɛk əl /

verb (used with object)

heckled, heckling

  1. to harass (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like; badger.

    Synonyms:
    hound, hector, needle, provoke, bait

  2. hackle.

noun

  1. hackle.

heckle British  
/ ˈhɛkəl /

verb

  1. to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts

  2. Also: hackle.   hatchel.  (tr) to comb (hemp or flax)

"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

noun

  1. an instrument for combing flax or hemp

"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

Other Word Forms

  • heckler noun

Etymology

Origin of heckle

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English hekelen, variant of hechelen “to comb flax”; akin to hackle 1, hatchel

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.

Holding up homemade cards as 'Silent Night' played in the background - emulating a scene from the film 'Love Actually' - Hearn expertly avoided being interrupted, despite Eubank Jr's attempts to heckle him.

From BBC • Nov. 13, 2025

“Tiger With Cubs” depicts a tigress nursing her young under pine trees as magpies heckle them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025

Arizona and Arizona State fans once used the term to heckle him, but the taunts had the opposite of their intended effect.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2025

Even back in 2022, when Boebert and Greene presented as a Karen power duo out to heckle President Joe Biden, I was skeptical that their alliance would last long.

From Salon • Jul. 18, 2023

When he told them to leave the pitch, they did so quite cheerfully and went to sit in the stands to heckle everyone else.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

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.