heckle

[ hek-uhl ]

/ ˈhɛk əl /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: heckle / heckling / heckler on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), heck·led, heck·ling.

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

hackle¹ (def. 7).

noun

hackle¹ (def. 5).

OTHER WORDS FOR heckle

1 bait, provoke, needle, hector, hound.

See synonyms for heckle on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of heckle

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English hekelen, variant of hechelen “to comb flax”; akin to hackle¹, hatchel

OTHER WORDS FROM heckle

heck·ler, noun

Words nearby heckle

hecatomb, hechsher, Hecht, heck, heckelphone, heckle, heckler, heckuva, hect-, hectare, hectic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use heckle in a sentence

Known on stage for his confrontational style, Gelman heckles the audience as much as they heckle him.
Brett Gelman Has Dinner with Your Favorite TV Sidekicks|Rich Goldstein|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We go to the ball park, we heckle a pitcher who throws one bad pitch.
Eliot Spitzer Mobbed by Press, Heckled at First Campaign Stop|David Freedlander|July 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Banners were waved and speakers were both cheered and jeered—opponents commonly turned up to heckle.
The Lessons of the British Women’s Fight for the Vote|Frances Osborne|June 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A group of anti-monarchy protestors gathered in Montreal to heckle the young royals, holding up signs reading “Royal Parasites.”
Will and Kate’s Excellent Adventure|The Daily Beast Video|July 8, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Please torment, harass, vex, heckle, and badger those two blockheads until they honor their commitments to my defense fund.
John Grisham's Debut Short Story|John Grisham|October 26, 2009|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.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
Whenever one half of the length of the strake of flax is heckled, it is turned round to heckle the other half.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
It is next to be beaten, and passed once or twice over an ordinary heckle or stiff brush.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
They set aside all thought of assisting their hapless brothers and sisters, while they heckle their unfortunate governors.
How Canada was Won|F. S. Brereton
Heckling is combing it with a heckle or wooden comb; binnings are halters for cattle made of sprit or rushes.
More English Fairy Tales|Various

British Dictionary definitions for heckle

heckle

/ (ˈhɛkəl) /

verb

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

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

noun

an instrument for combing flax or hemp

Derived forms of heckle

heckler, noun

Word Origin for heckle

C15: Northern and East Anglian form of hackle

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

heckle

OTHER WORDS FOR heckle

Origin of heckle

OTHER WORDS FROM heckle

Words nearby heckle

Words related to heckle

How to use heckle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for heckle

Derived forms of heckle

Word Origin for heckle