the place or state of punishment of the wicked after death; the abode of evil and condemned spirits; Gehenna or Tartarus.
any place or state of torment or misery.
They made their father's life a hell on earth.
something that causes torment or misery.
Having that cut stitched without anesthesia was hell.
the powers of evil.
the abode of the dead; Sheol or Hades.
extreme disorder or confusion; chaos.
The children let both dogs into the house, and all hell broke loose.
Informal. something remarkable of its kind (usually used in the phrase a hell of a orone hell of a ).
That was one hell of a great game.
a receptacle into which a tailor throws scraps.
Also called hellbox. Printing. a box into which a printer throws discarded type.
the utterance of “hell” in swearing or for emphasis.
Informal. the hell,
(used as an intensifier to express surprise, anger, impatience, etc., often in the form of a question beginning with a WH-word).
Why the hell can't the trains run on time?
How the hell am I supposed to finish this by tomorrow?
(used sarcastically or ironically to express the opposite of what is being stated).
Are you listening to me? The hell you are!
for the hell of it,
to see what will happen; for adventure, fun, excitement, etc..
For the hell of it, let's just get on the next bus and see where it takes us.
with no particular purpose; for no special reason.
I called him up for the hell of it, and he offered me a job.
raise hell,
to indulge in wild celebration.
to create an uproar; object violently to.
She'll raise hell when she sees what your rabbit has done to her garden.
be hell on,
to be unpleasant to or painful for.
These shoes are hell on my poor feet.
to be harmful to.
These country roads are hell on tires.
hell on wheels, extremely demanding, fast-paced, aggressive, effective, or the like.
The new job is hell on wheels. Our sales staff is hell on wheels when it comes to getting the most out of every account.
get / catch hell, to suffer a scolding; receive a harsh reprimand.
We'll get hell from our parents if we stay out late again.
play hell with, to deal recklessly with; bring injury or harm to.
Snowstorms played hell with the flow of city traffic.
give someone hell, to reprimand or reproach severely.
the / to hell with, (used to express dismissal, rejection, contempt, disappointment, or the like).
If we have to walk five miles to see the view, the hell with it! He wouldn't even speak to me, so to hell with him!
like hell,
with great speed, effort, intensity, etc..
We ran like hell to get home before the storm. She tried like hell to get him to change his mind.
(used sarcastically or ironically to express the opposite of what is being stated).
He says the motor will never break down? Like hell it won't!
what the hell, (used to express lack of concern or worry, indifference, abandonment, surrender, etc.).
As long as you're borrowing $100, what the hell, borrow $200.
go to hell in a handbasket, handbasket.
Christianity (sometimes capital)
the place or state of eternal punishment of the wicked after death, with Satan as its ruler
forces of evil regarded as residing there
(sometimes capital) (in various religions and cultures) the abode of the spirits of the dead See also Hel Hades Sheol
pain, extreme difficulty, etc
informal a cause of such difficulty or suffering
war is hell
high spirits or mischievousness
there's hell in that boy
a box used by a tailor for discarded material
rare a gambling house, booth, etc
(intensifier)
tired as hell
informal for the fun of it
informal denoting a person or thing that is particularly bad or alarming
neighbour from hell
hangover from hell
informal
to give someone a severe reprimand or punishment
to be a source of annoyance or torment to someone
informal (intensifier)
a hell of a good performance
at great speed
informal whatever difficulties may arise
informal serious consequences, as of a foolish action
informal
(adverb) (intensifier)
he works like hell
an expression of strong disagreement with a previous statement, request, order, etc
informal to throw into confusion and disorder; disrupt
to create a noisy disturbance, as in fun
to react strongly and unfavourably
informal
the hell I will
(intensifier) used in such phrases as what the hell, who the hell, etc
an expression of strong disagreement or disfavour
See contraction.
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English hel(l); cognate with Old High German hell(i)a ( German Hölle ), Old Norse hel, Gothic halja; akin to Old English helan “to cover, hide,” and to hull 2
Hell is a terrible state or place of pain, suffering, and misery. If you're religious, you might believe in hell as a place where bad people go after they die. Even if you don't subscribe to a religion that includes a concept of eternal hell for evil or blasphemous people, you might use the word to describe a terrible place or situation. Someone who's suffered an agonizing ordeal might say, "I've been through hell." The phrase "when hell freezes over" basically means "never," since hell is famous for its reputation as burning with infinite fire.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Henley said netball initially encouraged teamwork, alongside having "a hell of a good time".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Some arias are cut; Donna Elvira’s Act 2 “Mi tradì” replaces her Act 1 “Ah, fuggi il traditor,” and there is no moralizing epilogue after the Don goes to hell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
This is, as best we can tell, what hell looks like from a handbasket.
From Slate ● Jul. 18, 2026
“He fought like hell for the things he believed in, and he was just as willing to go to bat for you when it counted.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
I can’t let her stay in well-check hell.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
But when it comes to how he'll apply what he thinks in principle to what he does in practice, that was not always so clear.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
I’ll bet everyone except Rich Paul is hoping he’ll retire and free everyone else from the never-ending guessing game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
If he wants to be president, he’ll need to get over that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
So we’re all just waiting to see what he’ll do next.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Do you expect that he’ll ask? Will you come to an arrangement?”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
It was a roustabout settlement with three stores, a blacksmithy, a boarding house, a half-dozen saloons, gambling hells and dance halls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2025
"So this is glamour, people are walking past saying I've seen that bodysuit in M&S, I must get one... but it was all fine, there was no fire - only in the nine hells."
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2024
It’s going to be one hell of an offseason, and there’s nothing like hells of offseasons.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 28, 2021
On August 4th, we watched from our separate hells as a 40,000-foot cloud the color of bruised flesh collapsed over the ridge west of Greenville.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2021
“Look at her. She has Jahan’s eyes, his hair. Ten hells, she has his face.”
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
