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hell

Pronunciation: /hɛl/
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Definition of hell

noun

  • (often Hell) a place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death: irreligious children were assumed to have passed straight to the eternal fires of hell
  • a situation, experience, or place of great suffering:I’ve been through hell he made her life hell

exclamation

(also the hell)
  • used for emphasis or to express anger, contempt, or surprise:oh, hell—where will this all end? who the hell are you?

Phrases

all hell breaks (or is let) loose

informal suddenly there is pandemonium: the police arrived one night and all hell broke loose

(as) —— as hell

informal used for emphasis:he’s as guilty as hell

be hell on

informal be very unpleasant or harmful to:the fungus is hell on grasshoppers

come hell or high water

whatever difficulties may occur: come hell or high water, cooking three meals a day is a mighty task

for the hell of it

informal just for fun:she walked on window ledges for the hell of it

—— from hell

informal an extremely unpleasant or troublesome example of something:neighbours from hell

get hell

informal be severely reprimanded: she got hell on the way home

give someone hell

informal severely reprimand or make things very unpleasant for someone: I gave him hell

go to hell

informal used to express angry rejection of someone or something: you can go to hell

go to (or through) hell and back

endure an extremely unpleasant or difficult experience: he’s been to hell and back since he was publicly blamed for Saturday’s home defeat

go to hell in a handbasket

North American informal deteriorate rapidly: the world is going to hell in a handbasket

hell for leather

as fast as possible: I tore hell for leather out of my garage

hell's bells

informal an exclamation of annoyance or anger: Hell’s bells, Don, you’re being unreasonable

hell hath no fury like a woman scorned

proverb a woman who has been rejected by a man can be ferociously angry and vindictive.

a (or one) hell of a ——

informal used to emphasize something very bad or great:the car cost a hell of a lot of money

—— the hell out of

informal used in verbal phrases to emphasize force, speed, etc.:let’s get the hell out of here

hell's half acre

North American a great distance.

like hell

informal
  • 1very fast, much, hard, etc. (used for emphasis):my head hurts like hell
  • 2used in ironic expressions of scorn or disagreement:like hell, he thought

not a hope in hell

see hope.

play hell (or merry hell)

British informal
create havoc: the kids play merry hell until she tells them to go to bed at once
cause damage:the rough road played hell with the tyres

the road to hell is paved with good intentions

proverb promises and plans must be put into action, otherwise they are useless.

there will be hell to pay

informal serious trouble will occur as a result of a previous or proposed action: when I got it wrong, there would be hell to pay

to hell

used for emphasis:damn it to hell

to hell with

informal expressing one’s scorn or lack of concern for (someone or something).

until (or till) hell freezes over

forever: they will have to wait until hell freezes over

what the hell

informal it doesn’t matter: you’re already going to be home late, so what the hell

Derivatives

hellward

adverb & adjective

Origin:

Old English hel, hell, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hel and German Hölle, from an Indo-European root meaning 'to cover or hide'

hell in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of hell in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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