like hell

hell  (hl)

n.

1.

a. often Hell The abode of condemned souls and devils in some religions; the place of eternal punishment for the wicked after death, presided over by Satan.

b. A state of separation from God; exclusion from God's presence.

2. The abode of the dead, identified with the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades; the underworld.

3.

a. A situation or place of evil, misery, discord, or destruction: "War is hell" (William Tecumseh Sherman).

b. Torment; anguish: went through hell on the job.

4.

a. The powers of darkness and evil.

b. Informal One that causes trouble, agony, or annoyance: The boss is hell when a job is poorly done.

5. A sharp scolding: gave the student hell for cheating.

6. Informal Excitement, mischievousness, or high spirits: We did it for the sheer hell of it.

7.

a. A tailor's receptacle for discarded material.

b. Printing A hellbox.

8. Informal Used as an intensive: How the hell can I go? You did one hell of a job.

9. Archaic A gambling house.

intr.v. helled, hell·ing, hells Informal

To behave riotously; carouse: out all night helling around.

interj.

Used to express anger, disgust, or impatience.

Idioms:

for the hell of it

For no particular reason; on a whim: walked home by the old school for the hell of it.

hell on Informal

1. Damaging or destructive to: Driving in a hilly town is hell on the brakes.

2. Unpleasant to or painful for.

hell or/and high water

Troubles or difficulties of whatever magnitude: We're staying, come hell or high water.

hell to pay

Great trouble: If we're wrong, there'll be hell to pay.

like hell Informal

1. Used as an intensive: He ran like hell to catch the bus.

2. Used to express strong contradiction or refusal: He says he's going along with usLike hell he is!

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[Middle English helle, from Old English; see kel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: Hell comes to us directly from Old English hel. Because the Roman Church prevailed in England from an early date, the Romanthat is, Mediterraneanbelief that hell was hot prevailed there too; in Old English hel is a black and fiery place of eternal torment for the damned. But because the Vikings were converted to Christianity centuries after the Anglo-Saxons, the Old Norse hel, from the same source as Old English hel, retained its earlier pagan senses as both a place and a person. As a place, hel is the abode of oathbreakers, other evil persons, and those unlucky enough not to have died in battle. It contrasts sharply with Valhalla, the hall of slain heroes. Unlike the Mediterranean hell, the Old Norse hel is very cold. Hel is also the name of the goddess or giantess who presides in hel, the half blue-black, half white daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrbotha. The Indo-European root behind these Germanic words is *kel-, "to cover, conceal" (so hell is the "concealed place"); it also gives us hall, hole, hollow, and helmet.

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	like hell - with great speed or effort or intensity; "drove like crazy"; "worked like hell to get the job done"; "ran like sin for the storm cellar"; "work like thunder"; "fought like the devil" like crazy, like mad, like sin, like the devil, like thunder colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
	2.	like hell - used ironically to indicate the opposite of what is stated; "says he'll help me? Like hell he will!"