Word.ws English Dictionary

helluv

helluv adjective: intensifier, signifies an abundance of a thing; much or many.

Adjective

helluv (not comparable)

  1. (Northern-California, slang) Intensifier, signifies an abundance of a thing; much or many.
    • Hey, if you guys get the munchies, there's helluv candy in the cupboard.
    • […] and all of the other people I have met who show me helluv love when I come through your town.2006, Joylynn Jossel, When Souls Mate
    Synonyms:
    mad

Adverb

helluv (not comparable)

  1. (Northern-California, slang) Intensifier (modifies verbs); to a large extent; totally; very much.
    • Dude, I helluv want to go to the show with you, but I'm soooo grounded.
    • “[…]. This helluv hurts.” We grownups burst out laughing, and I hugged her bony adolescent shoulders.2002, Peggy Vincent, Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife, page 225
  2. (Northern-California, slang) Intensifier (modifies adjectives); to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly.
    • That new girl is helluv sexy.
    • “We had the baby, like two minutes ago. It was helluv icy. […] Naeema was so brave, just hellabitchin', and I delivered the baby myself 'cause we have this hellafresh midwife who taught me how to do it.”2002, Peggy Vincent, Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife, page 226
    Synonyms:
    wicked

Interjection

  1. (Northern-California, slang) For sure; totally; hell yeah; used as a strong affirmation of something that was just said, accomplished, or revealed.
    • "Hey, you wanna come to the concert tonight?" "Oh, helluv!"

Contraction

helluv

  1. (colloquial, contraction) Elision of "hell of".
    • Oh, you goddam-betcha, Julie, it's one helluva lot better — one HELLUV A lot better — to be born dirt-poor. Course then you get to stay that way the rest of your life.1977, Curt Johnson, The Morning Light, page 214
    • “That's the helluv it — beggin' yer pardon, miss...”1997, Kat Martin, Innocence Undone, page 297
  2. (colloquial, contraction) Elision of "the hell of".
    • “Helluv it is,” he grumbled. “I was thinking of marrying her myself. Wrote her a letter, but it didn't get posted in time.”1997, Kat Martin, Innocence Undone, page 173
  3. (colloquial, contraction) Elision of "hell have"
    • Where the helluv you been?1973, Richard Cowper, Clone, page 99

Synonyms of helluv

Origin of helluv

From "hell of (a)", like hella (originally Northern California slang). See also Wikipedia:Hella (word).

Shortened form, or elision, of phrases like "hell of" or "hell have", approximating casual speech in writing.

Questions about helluv

What does helluv mean?
Helluv means intensifier, signifies an abundance of a thing; much or many.
What part of speech is helluv?
Helluv can be an adjective, an adverb, an interjection or a contraction.

Words near helluv in the dictionary

  1. Helluland
  2. helluo
  3. helluo librorum
  4. helluones librorum
  5. helluos
  6. helluv
  7. helluva
  8. helluvalot
  9. helluvan
  10. hellward
  11. hellwards

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: helluv (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-helluv.ogg.

Cite this entry: “helluv.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/helluv. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.