heckler
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of heckler
Explanation
Have you ever screamed horrible things during a sports event, or taunted someone with cruel jokes? You might be a heckler, and you’re probably not very well-liked. The word heckler is rooted in an old Dutch verb that means “to irritate, prickle,” and hecklers can be irritating indeed. They sit at baseball games and yell insults at the players, or start booing during a spelling bee. Some comedians love hecklers and often will start heckling them back. Other comedians will jump off stage and attack a heckler — so keep that in mind if you feel like adding heckler to your résumé.
Vocabulary lists containing heckler
100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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Opposite of Always
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Warriors Don't Cry (Abridged)
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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.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Erika Kirk was standing center stage in a hotel ballroom, explaining the difference between earthly pleasures and heavenly joy, when a heckler interrupted her remarks to shout incendiaries at her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Speaking over the occasional heckler, he told the crowd: “My life, your life, all of our lives are better off for the companies and the things that billionaires have done for California.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
Youssef grinned, teased the unseen heckler for missing the half-dozen nods he’d already dropped, and finally waved an arm toward the wings: “Put your hands together for Zohran Mamdani!”
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2025
One night, Cher responded cheekily to a heckler, and the crowd laughed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024
When a stand-up puts down a heckler, he has to do so by being funnier: compelling laughter, very directly, gets the audience on his side.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
