What does "hell" mean?
Hell: 2. The place or state of punishment for the wicked after death; the abode of evil spirits. Hence, any mental torment; anguish. "Within him hell." Milton. It is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell. Shak.
Additional senses
- 2.A place where outcast persons or things are gathered; as: (a) A dungeon or prison; also, in certain running games, a place to which those who are caught are carried for detention. (b) A gambling house. "A convenient little gambling hell for those who had grown reckless." W. Black. (c) A place into which a tailor throws his shreds, or a printer his broken type. Hudibras. Gates of hell. (Script.) See Gate, n., 4.
- 3.To overwhelm. [Obs.] Spenser.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00