Hell Definition
In various religions, the place where some or all spirits are believed to go after death.
- For no particular reason; on a whim:
walked home by the old school for the hell of it.
- Damaging or destructive to:
Driving in a hilly town is hell on the brakes.
- Unpleasant to or painful for.
- Troubles or difficulties of whatever magnitude:
We're staying, come hell or high water.
- Great trouble:
If we're wrong, there'll be hell to pay.
- Used as an intensive:
He ran like hell to catch the bus.
- Used to express strong contradiction or refusal:
He says he's going along with us—Like hell he is!
Other Word Forms of Hell
Noun
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Hell
- for the hell of it
- hell on
- hell or
- hell to pay
- like hell
- to hell and gone
- to hell with
- a hell of a
- as hell
- be hell on
- catch hell
- for the hell of it
- give someone hell
- hell to pay
- like hell
- to hell with
Origin of Hell
-
From Middle English helle, from Old English hel, hell, helle (“nether world, abode of the dead, hell”), from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“nether world, concealed place”), from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to cover, conceal, save”). Cognate Dutch hel (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Swedish helvete (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English helle from Old English kel-1 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to hell using the buttons below.