heckle
verb (used with object)
to harass (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like; badger.
were heckling
-
past progressiveof heckle.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
More than a few of the National Guard troops, police officers and Homeland Security officers those young Latino activists were heckling have Latino surnames on their uniforms, when they show any identification at all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025
When Yang arrived at the gathering, small crowds were heckling ranks of police deployed beneath the mottled plane trees of Wulumuqi Road, named after Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region where the fire occurred.
From Reuters ● Nov. 30, 2022
Karem had a brief exchange with members of the audience whom he said were heckling him.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2020
As Briscoe Hay recalled, “People were heckling … ‘Where’s U2?’ and ‘Get off the stage.’
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2020
But in an opera in which Sulzer’s music is ventriloquized by the experimental sounds of Ms. Berkson, it sometimes sounded as if she were heckling herself.
From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2012
