/ hek; NAmE / exclamation , noun
( informal ) used to show that you are slightly annoyed or surprised :
Oh heck, I'm going to be late!
We had to wait a heck of a long time!
Who the heck are you?
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IDIOMS
- for the heck of it
- what the heck!
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WORD ORIGIN
late 19th cent. (originally northern English dialect): euphemistic alteration of hell .