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heck

1

[ hek ]

interjection

  1. (used as a mild expression of annoyance, rejection, disgust, etc.):

    What the heck do you care?



noun

  1. something remarkable of its kind (usually used in the phrase heck of a ):

    That was a heck of an impressive speech. Have one heck of a good time.

heck

2

[ hek ]

noun

  1. a comblike attachment on a loom, for guiding the warp threads as they are dressed for the warp beam.
  2. a device that guides yarn onto the bobbin of a spinning wheel.
  3. a gridlike arrangement of glass or metal rods below the hooks on a Jacquard loom, used for lifting all harness eyes equally or evenly.

heck

1

/ hɛk /

interjection

  1. a mild exclamation of surprise, irritation, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


heck

2

/ hɛk /

noun

  1. dialect.
    a frame for obstructing the passage of fish in a river
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of heck1

First recorded in 1850–55; euphemistic alteration of hell

Origin of heck2

1300–50; Middle English hekke, Old English hecc, variant of hæcc hatch 2
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Word History and Origins

Origin of heck1

C19: euphemistic for hell

Origin of heck2

C14: variant of hatch ²
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. as heck (used as a mild intensifier):

    I say he's guilty as heck.

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Example Sentences

She made sure her husband was networking the heck out of the event.

It’s only in the third episode that fans will begin to get a sense of what the heck is going on.

From Time

When I started to imagine what would happen with legalized Internet gaming, it scared the heck out of me .

The thing that we have to do is focus on really what is important, and that is we have a heck of a matchup against Pittsburgh coming up.

For anybody we don’t know it’s going to be ehh-ehh-ehh get the heck out.

They just reflect the range of breeds that were used to create the Heck cattle in the first instance.

Washington is a heck of a lot better as a result, and will be for years to come.

A mixtape dubbed “Montage of Heck” has surfaced on the site Live Nirvana!

After what one cop called “a heck of a fuss,” they finally managed to print her.

Heck, research shows that a little bit of Viagra will even help cut flowers stand up straighter for as long as a week.

By heck—time a farmer was pulling on his overalls and going forth to his dew-gemmed toil!

The ends of the threads from these bobbins are drawn through the eyes of two leaves of the "heck," and all the ends tied together.

He was the father-in-law of Peter Heck, a former postmaster of Uniontown.

To live at "heck and manger" is to fare sumptuously every day, even beyond our income.

Yu don't want to worry none about me—an' if yu don't get yore hands closter to yore neck they'll be heck to pay!

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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