like hell
Idioms-
Recklessly, extremely, as in We ran like hell to catch the train . [Mid-1800s]
-
Not at all, on the contrary, as in You think I'll call her stupid? Like hell I will! or Like hell I can't say that to Bob . [Late 1800s]
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.
She recalled another major wildfire in 2012 when residents had been able to return home the following day, saying: "This time it was like hell."
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
What Sir Desmond Swayne will do is yet to be decided, but in 2024 he wrote of how he hoped "like hell" to be unsuccessful each time he entered the ballot.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
“The last 40 days felt like hell on earth,” Paul wrote in a separate Instagram post on Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
The immediate scale of his wreckage was unprecedented, but so was the level of resistance from the American public — two sides, fighting like hell to be the louder one.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
Work like hell all day every day, send them your money and get a little piece of paper back, Your account closed at 20.62.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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.
