heckle

[ hek-uhl ]

verb (used with object)

, heck·led, heck·ling.

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

   Synonyms: hound, hector, needle, provoke, bait

2. hackle ¹( def 7 ).

noun

1. hackle ¹( def 5 ).

heckle

/ ˈhɛkəl /

verb

1. to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts
2. Alsohacklehatchel tr to comb (hemp or flax)

noun

1. an instrument for combing flax or hemp

Derived Forms

• ˈheckler, noun

Other Words From

• heck·ler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of heckle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of heckle¹

C15: Northern and East Anglian form of hackle

Example Sentences

Known on stage for his confrontational style, Gelman heckles the audience as much as they heckle him.

From The Daily Beast

We go to the ball park, we heckle a pitcher who throws one bad pitch.

From The Daily Beast

Banners were waved and speakers were both cheered and jeered—opponents commonly turned up to heckle.

From The Daily Beast

A group of anti-monarchy protestors gathered in Montreal to heckle the young royals, holding up signs reading “Royal Parasites.”

From The Daily Beast

Please torment, harass, vex, heckle, and badger those two blockheads until they honor their commitments to my defense fund.

From The Daily Beast

Upon an oblong plank a b, two circular or square blocks of wood c and d are fixed, in which the heckle teeth stand upright.

From Project Gutenberg

Whenever one half of the length of the strake of flax is heckled, it is turned round to heckle the other half.

From Project Gutenberg

It is next to be beaten, and passed once or twice over an ordinary heckle or stiff brush.

From Project Gutenberg

They set aside all thought of assisting their hapless brothers and sisters, while they heckle their unfortunate governors.

From Project Gutenberg

Heckling is combing it with a heckle or wooden comb; binnings are halters for cattle made of sprit or rushes.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• badger
• bully
• embarrass
• hound
• interrupt
• pester
• rattle
• ridicule
• taunt
• tease