heck

noun

ˈhek 

1

: hell sense 2

all heck breaks loose

2

: hell sense 4

a heck of a lot of money

Synonyms of heck

• hell
• havoc
• mess
• jumble

Examples of heck in a Sentence

it looks like heck in that boy's bedroom

Recent Examples on the Web

But that disappointment comes with a whole heck of a lot of hunger for Sanchez, a senior defender who earned all-state honors last fall. — Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026

Air Yordan and the Decuple Crown watch The heck with the Triple Crown. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

That Sean Payton won by 20 on the road and still spent a good chunk of his postgame presser either complaining, yammering about Jack Lemmon, or both, is a heck of a good sign. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2026

Tell me what the heck a gross bacterium that spreads disease has to do with sunscreen. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 6 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

euphemism

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for heck

• beck
• breck
• check
• cheque
• czech
• deck
• fleck
• keck
• mech
• neck
• peck
• reck

Biographical Definition

Heck

biographical name

ˈhek 

Richard F(red) 1931–2015 American chemist