Meaning
5 senses(colloquial, sometimes, vulgar)To make hellish; to place (someone) in hell; to make (a place) into a hell.
(colloquial, sometimes, vulgar)To hurry, rush.
(colloquial, intransitive, sometimes, vulgar)To move quickly and loudly; to raise hell as part of motion.
He was helling down the road with his radio blaring.
(colloquial, rare, sometimes, vulgar)To add luster to; to burnish (silver or gold).
(colloquial, rare, sometimes, vulgar)To pour.
18th century, Josiah Relph, The Harvest; or Bashful Shepherd Gosh, the sickle went into me handː Down hell'd the bluid.
Examples
835 sentencesTom took off like a bat out of hell.
What the hell kind of movie is this?
What the hell are you doing?
Що ти, в біса, робиш?
ruКакого черта ты делаешь?
deWas zum Teufel machst du?
There's no more room in hell.
У пеклі вже немає місця.
ruВ аду больше нет места.
They know how hell looks like.
Вони знають, як виглядає пекло.
ruОни знают, как выглядит ад.
deSie wissen, wie die Hölle aussieht.
Origin
From Middle English hel, hell, helle, hælle, from Old English hel, hell, from Proto-West GFrom Middle English hel, hell, helle, hælle, from Old English hel, hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“hell, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”). First attested in c. 725.
From German hellen (“to brighten, burnish”). Related to Dutch hel (“clear, bright”) and German hell (“clear, bright”).
From Middle English hellen, from Old Norse hella (“to pour”), from Proto-Germanic *halþijaną (“to incline, tip; to pour out, empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to lean, incline”). Cognate with Icelandic hella (“to pour”), Norwegian helle (“to pour”), Swedish hälla (“to pour”). See also English hield.
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Forms
hells, helling, helled, helledLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle