■ noun
1》 (often Hell ) a place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth to which the wicked are consigned after death.
2》 a state or place of great suffering.
■ exclamation used to express annoyance or surprise or for emphasis.
Phrases
all ~ breaks (or is let ) loose informal suddenly there is pandemonium.
come ~ or high water whatever difficulties may occur.
for the ~ of it informal just for fun.
get ~ informal be severely reprimanded.
give someone ~ informal severely reprimand or make things very unpleasant for someone.
go to ~ in a handbasket (or handcart ) N. Amer. informal deteriorate rapidly.
~ for leather informal as fast as possible.
a (or one ) ~ of a —— informal used to emphasize something very bad or great.
~'s bells informal an exclamation of annoyance or anger.
~'s half acre N. Amer. a great distance.
like ~ informal
1》 very fast, much, hard, etc.
2》 used in ironic expressions of scorn or disagreement.
not a hope in ~ informal no chance at all.
play ~ (or merry ~ ) Brit. informal create havoc or cause damage.
there will be ~ to pay informal serious trouble will result.
until ~ freezes over forever.
Derivatives
~ward adverb & adjective
Origin
OE hel , ~ , of Gmc origin.