hells

Noun

hell (countable and uncountable, plural hells)

1. (countable, excessive, figuratively) A place or situation of great suffering in life.
   • My new boss is making my job a hell.
2. (countable) A place for gambling.
   • Here’s five-and-twenty for you. Don’t be losing it at the hells now.1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 61, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published...
3. (figuratively) An extremely hot place.
   • You don’t have a snowball's chance in hell.
4. (mildly, vulgar) Used as an intensifier in phrases grammatically requiring a noun.
   • She's got her arms down to her side, defiant. But just for the hell of it, she leans into him, wraps her arms around his neck, puts her head on his shoulder, and hangs on tight.1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 321
5. (obsolete) A place into which a tailor throws shreds, or a printer discards broken type.
   • This sturdy Squire, he had, as well
     As the bold Trojan Knight, seen Hell.1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished...
6. In certain games of chase, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention.

See all 21 meanings of hell