hellhole

American

[hel-hohl] / ˈhɛlˌhoʊl /

noun

a place totally lacking in comfort, cleanliness, order, etc.
a place or establishment noted for its illegal or immoral practices.

hellhole British

/ ˈhɛlˌhəʊl /

noun

an unpleasant or evil place

"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

Etymology

Origin of hellhole

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; hell, hole

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.

And no, San Francisco isn’t the hellhole that some influencers and cable-TV pontificators describe.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

One can only imagine what's happening to them in that dystopian hellhole of a prison.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2025

Columnists Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria took it all in before dashing to catch their flights home to California, that place haters depict as a stinking hellhole.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2024

What also remains true: The place can be a hellhole for hitters.

From Seattle Times • May 3, 2024

She never canned except when it was scalding hot anyhow, and all the boiling turned the kitchen into some kind of hellhole.

From "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson

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