hell of a
idiom
informal + somewhat impolite
1
—used to make a statement more forceful
It was one hell of a good fight.
He is one hell of a nice guy.
2
: very good
She's a hell of a player.
3
: very bad or difficult
We've been having a hell of a time trying to finish on schedule.
This is a hell of a mess we're in.
Examples of hell of a in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And honest to God, Clive Davis hasn’t really been livin’ a hell of a lot of blues.
—
Timothy Crouse, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2025
It’s been a hell of a run for INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who took over a football club sixth in the Premier League and have currently rooted them in 15th.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 30 May 2025
Oz’s mother, Francis Cobb, is partly inspired by my late Grandmother Ofelia – a resilient, stubborn, single mother who came to the United States with little money, but a hell of a lot of ambition.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 28 May 2025
But seeing that ship in space today was a hell of a moment for us, so congratulations to every single person who put time, effort, sweat, anything, into that rocket.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hell of a
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Timothy Crouse, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2025
It’s been a hell of a run for INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who took over a football club sixth in the Premier League and have currently rooted them in 15th.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 30 May 2025
Oz’s mother, Francis Cobb, is partly inspired by my late Grandmother Ofelia – a resilient, stubborn, single mother who came to the United States with little money, but a hell of a lot of ambition.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 28 May 2025
But seeing that ship in space today was a hell of a moment for us, so congratulations to every single person who put time, effort, sweat, anything, into that rocket.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hell of a
Cite this Entry
“Hell of a.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hell%20of%20a. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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