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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heck

"I love to travel, I thought, 'what the heck? Let's see what this is all about'."

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

The crowd at Grayson is young and energetic; if you’ve ever been to a sporting event and wondered where the heck all the kids are, they’re at the Bananas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

“That fish is going to come up, and it’s going to bite the heck out of you.”

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

"When I was given a map and they told me, 'You're in Cameroon', I said, 'What the heck is Cameroon?' I didn't even know," she told AFP.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

There are necklaces, bracelets, earrings—a pair of pink diamonds included—brutches or broochets or whatever the heck those weird bedazzly things with the safety pins on the back are called.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

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