like hell
idiom
informal + impolite
1
: very much
My back hurts like hell.
2
: with a lot of energy and speed
We've been working like hell since morning.
3
: very bad
This place looks like hell.
4
—used to say in an angry and forceful way that one will not do something, does not agree, etc.
"It's your fault!" "Like hell it is!"
Examples of like hell in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That biopsy hurt like hell despite the local anesthetic.
—
Kara McGrath, Allure, 7 Aug. 2025
Whoopi Goldberg kicked off The View praising the crowd's reception because the gig 'can feel like hell.'
Goldberg, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin laughed off rumors that the cohosts are on the Jeffrey Epstein client list.
—EW.com, 8 July 2025
Now those same baby boomers, mostly in their 70s, are fighting like hell against the next revolution, and for the moment seem to be winning.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 20 June 2025
Maryland out of the Big 10 is trying like hell to win in football, but its national sports reputation is basketball.
—Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2025
Collins works like hell to get a uterine tamponade inserted to stop the bleeding.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
The job is simple in those minutes: Attack the hoop and defend like hell.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
So regardless of what happens in album of the year, Swifties could be very pleased with the outcome of Grammy night, then turn their attentions toward rooting like hell for Kansas City in the Super Bowl next Sunday.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2025
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Kara McGrath, Allure, 7 Aug. 2025
Whoopi Goldberg kicked off The View praising the crowd's reception because the gig 'can feel like hell.'
Goldberg, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin laughed off rumors that the cohosts are on the Jeffrey Epstein client list.
—EW.com, 8 July 2025
Now those same baby boomers, mostly in their 70s, are fighting like hell against the next revolution, and for the moment seem to be winning.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 20 June 2025
Maryland out of the Big 10 is trying like hell to win in football, but its national sports reputation is basketball.
—Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2025
Collins works like hell to get a uterine tamponade inserted to stop the bleeding.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
The job is simple in those minutes: Attack the hoop and defend like hell.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2025
So regardless of what happens in album of the year, Swifties could be very pleased with the outcome of Grammy night, then turn their attentions toward rooting like hell for Kansas City in the Super Bowl next Sunday.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Like hell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/like%20hell. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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