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hell

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hell¹

  • /hɛl/

Rhymes with -ɛl

Where it comes from

From Middle English hel, hell, helle, hælle, from Old English hel, hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“hell, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”). First attested in c. 725.

Cognates

Cognate with Yola helle (“hell”), Saterland Frisian Hälle (“hell”), West Frisian hel (“hell”), Alemannic German Hell (“hell”), Cimbrian hélla (“hell”), Dutch hel (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Limburgish hel, Héll, Höll (“hell”), Luxembourgish Häll (“hell”), Vilamovian heł, hełł (“hell”), Danish helvede (“hell”), ihjel (“to death”), Faroese helviti (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“death, hell”), helvíti (“hell”), Norwegian Nynorsk hel (“death, underworld”), helvete (“hell”), Swedish helvete (“hell”), ihjäl (“to death”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰 (halja, “hell”), Estonian koll (“bugbear”), Finnish koljo (“giant; evil spirit; devil”); also Cornish keles (“to conceal, hide”), Irish ceil (“to conceal, hide; to cover up”), Welsh celu (“to conceal, hide”), Faliscan 𐌂𐌄𐌋𐌀 (cela, “tomb”), Latin cella (“hut, storeroom; barn, granary”), Greek κολεός (koleós, “vagina; sheath; scabbard; coleus”), Lithuanian šalmas (“helmet”), Belarusian шало́м (šalóm, “helmet”), Bulgarian and Macedonian шлем (šlem, “helmet”), Old Polish szłom (“helmet”), Russian шело́м (šelóm), шлем (šlem, “helmet”), Serbo-Croatian шле̏м, шље̏м, šlȅm, šljȅm (“helmet”), Ukrainian шолом (šolom, “helmet”), Sanskrit शर्मन् (śarman, “safety, shelter; house; bliss, happiness, joy”).

Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

proper noun Hell

  1. capitalized, often, in many religions A place of torment where some or all sinners are believed to go after death and evil spirits are believed to be. May you rot in hell!

    Similar: afterlife · Opposite: heaven

noun hells · Hell

  1. countable, excessive, figuratively A place or situation of great suffering in life. My new boss is making my job a hell.
  2. countable A place for gambling. Here’s five-and-twenty for you. Don’t be losing it at the hells now.
  3. countable, figuratively, uncountable An extremely hot place. You don’t have a snowball's chance in hell.
  4. countable, mildly, uncountable, vulgar Used as an intensifier in phrases grammatically requiring a noun. She's got her arms down to her side, defiant. But just for the hell of it, she leans into him, wraps her arms around his neck, puts her head on his shoulder, and hangs on tight.
  5. countable, obsolete, uncountable A place into which a tailor throws shreds, or a printer discards broken type. This sturdy Squire, he had, as well As the bold Trojan Knight, seen Hell.
  6. countable, uncountable In certain games of chase, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.
  7. colloquial, countable, uncountable, usually, with on Something extremely painful or harmful (to) That steep staircase is hell on my knees.

interjection Hell

  1. colloquial, sometimes, vulgar Used to express discontent, unhappiness, or anger. Oh, hell! I got another parking ticket.
  2. colloquial, idiomatic, sometimes, vulgar Used to emphasize. Hell yeah!
  3. colloquial, sometimes, vulgar Used to introduce an intensified statement following an understated one; nay; not only that, but. Do it, or, rest assured, there will be no more Middle Eastern crisis – hell, there will be no more Middle East!

adverb Hell

  1. alternative, colloquial, not comparable, postpositional, sometimes, vulgar Alternative form of the hell or like hell - Oh, aren't they sweet?
  2. Australia, New Zealand, colloquial, not comparable, sometimes, vulgar Very; used to emphasize strongly. That was hell good!

    Similar: hella

verb hells · helling · helled · Hell

  1. colloquial, sometimes, vulgar To make hellish; to place (someone) in hell; to make (a place) into a hell.
  2. colloquial, sometimes, vulgar To hurry, rush. I had already lost thirteen points, all because she had to come helling in there at twelve, worrying me about that letter.
  3. colloquial, intransitive, sometimes, vulgar To move quickly and loudly; to raise hell as part of motion. He was helling down the road with his radio blaring.

hell²

  • /hɛl/

Rhymes with -ɛl

Where it comes from

From German hellen (“to brighten, burnish”). Related to Dutch hel (“clear, bright”) and German hell (“clear, bright”).

verb hells · helling · helled · Hell

  1. colloquial, rare, sometimes, vulgar To add luster to; to burnish (silver or gold). To hell gold or gilt workː take two ounces of tartar, two ounces of sulfur.. and it will give it a fine luster.

hell³

  • /hɛl/

Rhymes with -ɛl

Where it comes from

From Middle English hellen, from Old Norse hella (“to pour”), from Proto-Germanic *halþijaną (“to incline, tip; to pour out, empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to lean, incline”). Cognate with Icelandic hella (“to pour”), Norwegian helle (“to pour”), Swedish hälla (“to pour”). See also English hield.

verb hells · helling · helled · Hell

  1. colloquial, rare, sometimes, vulgar To pour. 18th century, Josiah Relph, The Harvest; or Bashful Shepherd Gosh, the sickle went into me handː Down hell'd the bluid.

Hell⁴

proper noun

  1. alternative Alternative spelling of Hel
  2. alternative Alternative form of Hela
  3. Alternative letter-case form of hell In ancient times, Turfan was called Huochou, or Fire City, which was not inappropriate. Turfan is located in the lowest depression in Asia, just a notch above Hell.
  4. A village in Stjørdal municipality, Trøndelag, Norway; was the administrative center of Lånke municipality, which existed until 1962. Officially the Nordland Railway begins at Hell, but popularly the whole route north of Trondheim is so called.
  5. A locality in West Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
  6. A ghost town in Riverside County, California, United States.
  7. An unincorporated community in Putnam Township, Livingston County, Michigan, United States.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: netherworld, nether region, underworld, inferno, perdition, hades, hel, sin, blaze, the pits, infernal region, scheol, the pit, god, devil, demon

Translations

Every language

name abode for the condemned

Españolinfierno
한국어지옥 jiok, 마계 magye, 나락 narak
日本語地獄 jigoku, 魔界 makai, 奈落 naraku
中文地獄 /地狱 dìyù
हिन्दीनरक narak, जहन्नम jahannam, यमलोक yamlok
Kiswahilijahanamu, kuzimu
Portuguêsinferno
Françaisenfer
DeutschHölle, Fegefeuer, Brand
Italianoinferno
ΕλληνικάΚόλαση Kólasi, κόλαση kólasi, γέεννα géenna
Românăiad, gheenă, infern
Русскийад ad, преиспо́дняя preispódnjaja, пе́кло péklo, гее́нна о́гненная gejénna ógnennaja
Tiếng Việtđịa ngục
العربيةجَهَنَّم jahannam, جَحِيم jaḥīm
עבריתגֵּיהִנּוֹם gehinóm

noun place of suffering in life

Españolinfierno
한국어지옥 jiok
日本語地獄 jigoku
中文地獄 /地狱 dìyù
हिन्दीनरक narak, जहन्नम jahannam, यमलोक yamlok
Kiswahilimotoni, jahanamu
Portuguêsinferno
Françaisenfer
DeutschHölle
Italianoinferno
Ελληνικάκόλαση kólasi
Русскийад ad
العربيةجَحِيم jaḥīm, جَهَنَّم jahannam
עבריתגֵּיהִנּוֹם gehinóm

noun extremely hot place

Portuguêsinferno
Русскийпе́кло péklo
العربيةجَحِيم jaḥīm

intj hell!

Españolcarajo!, mierda!, diablos!, joder!
日本語畜生 chikushō, 糞 kuso
中文肏！ cào
Françaismerde
Deutschzur Hölle!, Himmel!, Teufel!
Русскийчёрт čort
עבריתלעזאזל! la'azazél

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Cite this
MLA

"hell." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hell. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hell. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hell

Chicago

"hell." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hell.

BibTeX
@misc{hell_2026,
  title = {hell},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hell},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}