I. ˈhel noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old English helan to conceal, Old High German hella hell, helan to conceal, Old Norse hel heathen realm of the dead, Gothic halja hell, Latin celare to hide, conceal, Greek kalyptein to cover, conceal, Sanskrit śaraṇa screening, protecting; basic meaning: concealing
1.
a. : a place or state of the dead or of the damned: as
(1) : a place usually under the ground in which the dead continue to exist : netherworld , hades , sheol
I will slay the last of them with the sword … though they dig into hell — Amos 9:1-2 (Authorized Version)
spake of the resurrection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell — Acts 2:31 (Authorized Version)
— compare limbo
(2) : a netherworld in which the damned must suffer everlasting punishment (as by fire) and malevolent beings live under the rule of the devil — called also Gehenna ; compare purgatory
(3) : a spiritual state of lasting separation from God or of complete isolation : eternal death
b.
(1) : a nether domain of the devil and the demons
(2) : the fallen angels headed by Satan : the devil and the demons of hell : the powers of evil
c. Christian Science : error 2b, sin
2.
a. : a place or state of misery, torment, or wickedness
hundreds of gallons of spilled gasoline turn the … wreckage into a concentrated hell of searing flames — H.G.Armstrong
condemned to go through the hell of war — F.L.Allen
— used interjectionally to express irritation, irony, incredulity, or surprise
oh hell
expert, hell ! — he's no more an expert than I am
— often used as a generalized term of abuse
go to hell
or as a mild oath
to hell with it
or as an intensive
hell yes
— often used with in
what in hell are you doing
or the
get the hell out of here
or to
lives way to hell out in the sticks
hope to hell you're right
or as
cold as hell
serious as all hell
he sure as hell did it
or in the phrases hell of a
in a hell of a mess
heard a hell of a crash
a good singer and one hell of an actor
and hell out of
scared the hell out of him
the big guns smashed hell out of them
b. : a place or state of turmoil, disorder, or destruction : pandemonium
all hell broke loose
: havoc
raise hell with the true shape of the facts — John Lardner
the wind played hell with the garden
: ruin
said the country was going to hell in a hack
c. : a cause of torment, tumult, or havoc ; specifically : severe verbal castigation
got hell from his boss for being late
d.
(1) : unrestrained fun or sportiveness : tomfoolery
the children were full of hell and the house was soon a shambles
(2) : the vexations or adventurous satisfaction of an activity — usually used in the phrase just for the hell of it
broke all the windows just for the hell of it
hopped a freight just for the hell of it
(3) : the most vexing, pleasing, or notable feature — used with the
the hell of it was that nobody could understand him
the hell of the plan is that it works
3.
a. archaic : a receptacle into which a tailor throws his pieces
b. : hellbox
4. : gambling house : a cheap place of public resort : hall , house , joint
dining … in the cheap obscurity of a Soho eating hell — Aldous Huxley
•
- hell and gone
- hell and high water
- hell for
- hell on
- hell to pay
- what the hell
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to behave in a noisy and often dissolute way : carouse
Saturday night was their night to hell a little — H.E.Giles
come down to the city to hell around for a weekend — Merle Miller
2. : to travel at high speed
a police radio car came helling down between the elevated pillars, siren blasting — Jack Jones b.1923
with passengers numbering from two to nine, we helled all over the countryside — Bill Mauldin