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helter-skelter
[ hel-ter-skel-ter ]
/ ˈhɛl tərˈskɛl tər /
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
adverb
in headlong and disorderly haste: The children ran helter-skelter all over the house.
in a haphazard manner; without regard for order: Clothes were scattered helter-skelter about the room.
adjective
carelessly hurried; confused: They ran in a mad, helter-skelter fashion for the exits.
disorderly; haphazard: Books and papers were scattered on the desk in a helter-skelter manner.
noun
tumultuous disorder; confusion.
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Origin of helter-skelter
First recorded in 1585–95; rhyming compound, perhaps based on unattested skelt, Middle English skelten “to hasten”; further origin unknown); reduplication with initial h parallel to hubble-bubble, higgledy-piggledy, etc.
Words nearby helter-skelter
help screens, Helsingborg, Helsingør, Helsinki, Helsinki Conference, helter-skelter, helve, Helvellyn, Helvetia, Helvetian, Helvetic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use helter-skelter in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for helter-skelter
helter-skelter
/ (ˈhɛltəˈskɛltə) /
adjective
haphazard or carelessly hurried
adverb
in a helter-skelter manner
noun
British a high spiral slide, as at a fairground
disorder or haste
Word Origin for helter-skelter
C16: probably of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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