[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/heck.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / heck

[← H](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/H/)

# heck

«heck» in Mova's school dictionary: **an exclamation of annoyance or surprise, a soft stand-in…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

exclamation (heck!); noun (heck: «what the heck», «a heck of a»)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (mild) an exclamation of annoyance or surprise, a soft stand-in for «hell». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#m1)

2) used for emphasis: «a heck of a lot» = very much. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#m2)

3) «what the heck» = why not, I don't care. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

A gentle, family-friendly replacement for «hell», common among children, teachers and parents; everyday, all regions, especially US and UK.

### examples

- Oh heck, I've spilled my juice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#x1)
- What the heck is that noise? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#x2)
- That's a heck of a lot of homework. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#x3)
- Heck, why not? Let's go. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#x4)
- "Flipping heck!" said the teacher when the fire alarm went off. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#x5)
- It's a heck of a long way to walk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#x6)
- Heck, I forgot my lunch again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#x7)
- What the heck, I'll have another slice. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/#x8)

### note

Trap: mild and usually acceptable, but still a stand-in for «hell». «A heck of a» means very big or very much. Plain meaning: «oh no!», «very».

### In the corpora

- ["Heck" is a mild word used instead of "hell", as in "What the heck?"](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/38-drat-and-the-f-word/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «heck» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heck/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.