helter-skelter

American  

[hel-ter-skel-ter] / ˈhɛl tərˈskɛl tər /

adverb

1. in headlong and disorderly haste.

   The children ran helter-skelter all over the house.

2. in a haphazard manner; without regard for order.

   Clothes were scattered helter-skelter about the room.

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adjective

1. carelessly hurried; confused.

   They ran in a mad, helter-skelter fashion for the exits.

2. disorderly; haphazard.

   Books and papers were scattered on the desk in a helter-skelter manner.

noun

1. tumultuous disorder; confusion.

helter-skelter British  

/ ˈhɛltəˈskɛltə /

adjective

1. haphazard or carelessly hurried

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adverb

1. in a helter-skelter manner

noun

1. a high spiral slide, as at a fairground

2. disorder or haste

Etymology

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.

Explanation

Helter-skelter things are disorganized, hasty, and appear completely random. Your helter-skelter housekeeping style will definitely not impress your tidy grandmother when she comes to visit. You can use helter-skelter as an adjective, to describe something disorderly, or an adverb for things that are done haphazardly: "The little car, packed full of clowns, took off helter-skelter down the street." This word has been around since the 16th century, from the Middle English skelte, "to scatter hurriedly." The Beatles made it famous when they named a song "Helter Skelter" on the 1968 record popularly called The White Album.

Example Sentences

The shale companies’ tepid reaction to the jump in crude prices is further proof that firms once known to grow helter-skelter have become disciplined.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Challambra Hill climb before the final helter-skelter dash to the finish.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

The conditions made for a helter-skelter session with drivers clearly struggling for grip on a track where F1 has not held a race for five years.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2024

In the contemporary, helter-skelter sweep of Mexico City, there is one place — in the southern borough of Xochimilco — where a vision of a watery, pre-Columbian capital may still be imagined.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2024

Tables and chairs lay helter-skelter, our dishes broken to bits, everything we owned scrambled and strewn across the floor.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

Related Words

• chaotic
• haphazard
• hurried