hell |hel|nouna place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death.• a state or place of great suffering; an unbearable experience: I've been through hell | he made her life hell.exclamationused to express annoyance or surprise or for emphasis : oh, hell—where will this all end? | hell, no, we were all married.• ( the hell) informal expressing anger, contempt, or disbelief :who the hell are you? | the hell you are!PHRASESall hell broke loose informal suddenly there was pandemonium.( as) —— as hell informal used for emphasis : he's as guilty as hell.be hell on informal be very unpleasant or harmful to : a sensitive liberal mentality can be hell on a marriage.catch (or get) hell informal be severely reprimanded : Paul kept his mouth shut and looked apologetic—we got hell.come hell or high water whatever difficulties may occur.for the hell of it informal just for fun : she walked on window ledges for the hell of it.—— from hell informal an extremely unpleasant or troublesome instance or example of something : I've got a hangover from hell.get the hell out ( of) informal escape quickly from (a place or situation) : let's all get the hell out of here.give someone hell informal severely reprimand or make things very unpleasant for someone.go to hell informal used to express angry rejection of someone or something.go to (or through) hell and back endure an extremely unpleasant or difficult experience.go to hell in a handbasket informal undergo a rapid process of deterioration.hell for leather as fast as possible.hell's bells informal an exclamation of annoyance or anger.hell hath no fury like a woman scorned proverb a woman who has been rejected by a man can be ferociously angry and vindictive.a (or one) hell of a —— informal used to emphasize something very bad or great : it cost us a hell of a lot of money.hell's half acre a great distance.hell on wheels a disastrous situation.like hell informal 1 very fast, much, hard, etc. (used for emphasis): it hurts like hell. 2 used in ironic expressions of scorn or disagreement : like hell, he thought.not a hope in hell informal no chance at all.play hell informal make a fuss; create havoc. • cause damage : the rough road played hell with the tires.the road to hell is paved with good intentions proverbpromises and plans must be put into action, or else they are useless.there will be hell to pay informal serious trouble will occur as a result of a previous action.to hell used for emphasis : damn it to hell.to hell with informal expressing one's scorn or lack of concern for (someone or something) : to hell with the consequences.until (or till) hell freezes over for an extremely long time or forever.what the hell informal it doesn't matter.DERIVATIVEShellward |-wərd| adverb & adjectiveORIGIN Old English hel, hell, of Germanic origin; related toDutch hel and German Hölle, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to cover or hide.’