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Synonyms

hex

1 American  
[heks] / hɛks /

verb (used with object)

  1. to bewitch; practice witchcraft on.

    He was accused of hexing his neighbors' cows because they suddenly stopped giving milk.

noun

  1. spell; charm.

    With all this rain, somebody must have put a hex on our picnic.

  2. a witch.

hex 2 American  
[heks] / hɛks /

adjective

Informal.

  1. hexagonal.

    a bolt with a matching washer and hex nut.

  2. hexadecimal.

hex. 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. hexagon

  2. hexagonal.

hex 1 British  
/ hɛks /

noun

    1. short for hexadecimal

    2. ( as modifier )

      hex code
"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
hex 2 British  
/ hɛks /

verb

  1. (tr) to bewitch

"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

noun

  1. an evil spell or symbol of bad luck

  2. a witch

"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

Other Word Forms

  • hexer noun

Etymology

Origin of hex1

1820–30; < German Hexe witch; hag 1

Origin of hex2

First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening

Explanation

A hex is a magic spell or charm that's meant to cause harm. A witch in a story, for example, might put a hex on a prince that turns him into a chicken. If you believe in magic, you might either fear hexes or aspire to learn how to put them on your enemies — to hex them. In the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, "hex signs," forms of stars, flowers, and circles, are commonly painted on barns. Though tourists often interpret these as having superstitious meanings, they're really just folk art symbols. The Middle High German root of hex is Hexe, or "witch."

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Like the store’s sign, the sky glowed Big Orange, hex code #F96302, or Pantone 165 C, available in the paint department inside.

From Slate • Jan. 27, 2026

Why have Townsend's Scotland had hex on England?

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2025

People blowing up my phone like, “Man, it’s not fair. He gets 17 games,” or, “We’re going to put a hex on him.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2024

No longer a pristine hex shape, it was now gnarled up and unusable.

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2023

He might be running from the law, or maybe a charm had been placed on him, which would explain why every ordinary hex he tried to put on his wife failed to work.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat

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.