hex

1 of 5

verb

hexed; hexing; hexes

intransitive verb

: to practice witchcraft

transitive verb

1
: to put a hex on
2
: to affect as if by an evil spell : jinx
hexer noun

hex

2 of 5

noun

1
: a person who practices witchcraft
2
: spell, jinx

hex

3 of 5

adjective

: hexagonal
a bolt with a hex head

hex

4 of 5

adjective or noun

hex

5 of 5

abbreviation

hexagon

Examples of hex in a Sentence

Verb I think our plans have been hexed from the start—everything is going wrong. Noun He claimed that a witch had put a hex on him. people who used to believe that misfortune was caused by evil hexes and mischievous sprites
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In Search of Closure: After a romantic or platonic breakup, these people turned to hexing spells, smashing plates and erasing all traces of their exes from their digital life. Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 7 Nov. 2023 Thus, he became known as a super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis! Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2023 Witches used it to hex the election. Wired Staff, Wired, 17 Dec. 2020 At the trial, the judge wondered if demonstrators outside the courtroom were using voodoo dolls, or planning to hex anyone. Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2021 The most common Punjabi phrase people are using to hex the president seems to have originated in a tweet unrelated to Trump, from a fan account dedicated to Cory Monteith, the Glee star who died in 2013. Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2020 Circe, a witch of transformation from Homer’s The Odyssey, hexes Hilda (Lucy Davis) into a spider woman. Nick Romano, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2020 Getty Images Remember when Lana Del Rey joined the witches of Twitter and casually called upon her followers to cast a spell as part of a nation-wide effort to hex Trump out of office? Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 25 July 2017 In the 1960s, a coven calling themselves W.I.T.C.H (Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell) set about hexing Wall Street and beauty pageants and generally hanging around being creepy. Emma Grey Ellis, WIRED, 3 Apr. 2018
Noun
Some say the team is cursed by Bobby Layne, who put a hex on the Lions in 1958 after he was traded to Pittsburgh. Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2024 Putting a hex on Mars The results come courtesy of Curiosity, the older of the two operational rovers on the planet, which is exploring a site called Gale Crater. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 9 Aug. 2023 Opening the same file in a hex editor—a tool for analyzing and forensically investigating binary files—showed that a combination of tabs, spaces, and new lines were arranged in a way that encoded executable code. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 30 Jan. 2024 The six-function multi-tool also works as a straight-edge striker, tinder scraper, map scale, ruler, hex wrench and bottle opener. Anna Tingley, Variety, 16 Nov. 2023 Unlike many Creek cracks, this one has slots that fit big hexes perfectly. Michael Lee Simpson, Peoplemag, 30 Oct. 2023 Ruby’s hex function applied to the key given in ChatGPT’s example code would turn it into zero. Jaideep Vaidya, IEEE Spectrum, 11 June 2023 These high-performance socks are made with hex construction to optimize breathability in the most common hot spots. Emily Shiffer, Women's Health, 9 Sep. 2023 Inside each socket, the hex geometry is nonslip to prevent rounding the corners of both the socket and the fastener. Sarah Halverson, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Aug. 2023
Adjective
This made no sense—our last (pre-hex) texts were about where to go to dinner that night. Katie O’Hanlon, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2022 Even if your slot- or hex-head base and ring screws are not damaged, consider replacing them with torx screws. David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 29 July 2020 First up were hex deadlift squats using a cap barbell weight bar (or trap bar). Dave Quinn, PEOPLE.com, 23 Sep. 2017
Adjective or noun
This made no sense—our last (pre-hex) texts were about where to go to dinner that night. Katie O’Hanlon, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2022 Even if your slot- or hex-head base and ring screws are not damaged, consider replacing them with torx screws. David E. Petzal, Field & Stream, 29 July 2020 First up were hex deadlift squats using a cap barbell weight bar (or trap bar). Dave Quinn, PEOPLE.com, 23 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hex.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Pennsylvania German hexe, from German hexen, from Hexe witch, from Old High German hagzissa; akin to Middle English hagge hag

First Known Use

Verb

1830, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

1856, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1924, in the meaning defined above

Adjective Or Noun

1970, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hex was in 1830

Dictionary Entries Near hex

Cite this Entry

“Hex.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hex. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hex

1 of 3 verb
1
: to put a hex on
2
: to affect as if by an evil spell : jinx
hexer noun

hex

2 of 3 noun

hex

3 of 3 adjective or noun

More from Merriam-Webster on hex

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