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hell week

American  

noun

  1. the week of hazing before initiation into a college fraternity or sorority.

Etymology

Origin of hell week

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

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.

But he does refer to his hell week as “the witch hunt.”

From New York Times • Nov. 3, 2018

There's no doubt after surviving hell week that she's also going to be getting the viewing audience support this week.

From Salon • Oct. 5, 2010

Social services of many types have long since transformed the Greek "hell week" to "help week."

From Time Magazine Archive

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.