hellhole
Americannoun
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a place totally lacking in comfort, cleanliness, order, etc.
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a place or establishment noted for its illegal or immoral practices.
noun
Etymology
Origin of hellhole
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at hell, hole
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.
And no, San Francisco isn’t the hellhole that some influencers and cable-TV pontificators describe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
One can only imagine what's happening to them in that dystopian hellhole of a prison.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2025
“The scale and speed of the unfolding humanitarian crisis is bone-chilling. Gaza is fast becoming a hellhole and is on the brink of collapse,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner general.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 13, 2023
Despite that decline, the overall grade for residents’ feelings about safety came in at a C+, which isn’t great but isn’t a hellhole failure, either.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2023
In this lonely hellhole, there’s not even a chance to get warm.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
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.
