Hector
noun
the eldest son of Priam and husband of Andromache: the greatest Trojan hero in the Trojan War, killed by Achilles.
Hector
American
[hek-ter]
/ ˈhɛk tər /
noun
-
Classical Mythology. the eldest son of Priam and husband of Andromache: the greatest Trojan hero in the Trojan War, killed by Achilles.
-
(lowercase) a blustering, domineering person; a bully.
-
a male given name.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
hector
1
British
/ ˈhɛktə /
verb
noun
Hector
2
British
/ ˈhɛktə /
noun
Hector
Cultural
Etymology
Origin of Hector
< Latin < Greek Héktōr, special use of adj. héktōr holding fast
Explanation
To hector is to boss around or verbally bully someone. An older brother might hector his little sister until she hands over part of her Halloween candy. When you bombard someone with words, nagging and badgering until you get what you want, you hector. A teacher might feel the need to hector a class that consistently forgets to hand in homework assignments, and a playground bully might hector another child to give him her lunch money. The verb hector comes from the character in Greek mythology — Hector — who rallied the Trojans to keep fighting.
Vocabulary lists containing hector
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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The Boys in the Boat
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Bartleby the Scrivener
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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.
See Examples For:
“It would be awesome if Hector set up in my dorm.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
By Hector Berlioz writing of a possessed piano that plays itself, or by Kim Stanley Robinson’s fictional “Holywelkin’s Orchestra,” which turns mere thought into musical reality?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The Swedish deputy national police commissioner Stefan Hector said they were "constantly expanding our co-operation with other countries" and showing organised criminals "they cannot feel safe anywhere in the world".
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
For now, I am reminded of the comment made by “Saki,” aka Hector Hugh Munro, a famous English writer from over 100 years ago.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Hector catches it in his hand and reads it before handing it to the man in the grey suit.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
He gets angry sometimes, but in this tournament he has yet to noticeably hector the refs or rumble with his opponents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
I do not want to nag or hector.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2021
Even the pyramids in Egypt, impressive as they are, seem to hector us across the ages, with Ozymandian futility.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 4, 2020
We can spend the next year trying to hector independents out of the race.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2019
“Paid subordinates! What! you are my paid subordinate, are you? Oh yes, I had forgotten the salary! Well then, on that mercenary ground, will you agree to let me hector a little?”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
