heckle

[ hek-uhl ]

/ ˈhɛk əl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR heckle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), heck·led, heck·ling.

to harass (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like; badger.

hackle¹(def 7).

noun

hackle¹(def 5).

Origin of heckle

1275–1325; Middle English hekelen, variant of hechelen to comb flax; akin to hackle¹, hatchel

SYNONYMS FOR heckle

1 bait, provoke, needle, hector, hound.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR heckle ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM heckle

heck·ler, noun

Words nearby heckle

hechsher, hecht, hecht's pneumonia, heck, heckelphone, heckle, heckuva, hect-, hectare, hectic, hecto-

Example sentences from the Web for heckle

Known on stage for his confrontational style, Gelman heckles the audience as much as they heckle him.

Brett Gelman Has Dinner with Your Favorite TV Sidekicks |Rich Goldstein |April 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
We go to the ball park, we heckle a pitcher who throws one bad pitch.

Eliot Spitzer Mobbed by Press, Heckled at First Campaign Stop |David Freedlander |July 9, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Banners were waved and speakers were both cheered and jeered—opponents commonly turned up to heckle.

The Lessons of the British Women’s Fight for the Vote |Frances Osborne |June 13, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
A group of anti-monarchy protestors gathered in Montreal to heckle the young royals, holding up signs reading “Royal Parasites.”

Will and Kate’s Excellent Adventure |The Daily Beast Video |July 8, 2011 |DAILY BEAST

Please torment, harass, vex, heckle, and badger those two blockheads until they honor their commitments to my defense fund.

John Grisham's Debut Short Story |John Grisham |October 26, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
After all, you're not a professional explainer of the universe that I should heckle you thus.'

The Grandchildren of the Ghetto |Israel Zangwill
Whenever one half of the length of the strake of flax is heckled, it is turned round to heckle the other half.

A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines |Andrew Ure
Upon an oblong plank a b, two circular or square blocks of wood c and d are fixed, in which the heckle teeth stand upright.

A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines |Andrew Ure
A knot of the younger element tried to heckle Percy, but he strode loftily by them, puffing his inevitable cigarette.

Jim Spurling, Fisherman |Albert Walter Tolman
I was going to heckle him, when he explained—and with what so far unknown deference, in him, to one's bewilderment!

The Romantic Lady |Michael Arlen

British Dictionary definitions for heckle

heckle

/ (ˈhɛkəl) /

verb

to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts

Also: hackle, hatchel (tr) to comb (hemp or flax)

noun

an instrument for combing flax or hemp

Derived forms of heckle

heckler, noun

Word Origin for heckle

C15: Northern and East Anglian form of hackle

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

heckle

verb (used with object), heck·led, heck·ling.

noun

Origin of heckle

SYNONYMS FOR heckle

OTHER WORDS FROM heckle

Words nearby heckle

Example sentences from the Web for heckle

British Dictionary definitions for heckle

verb

noun

Derived forms of heckle

Word Origin for heckle

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

heckle

verb (used with object), heck·led, heck·ling.

noun

Origin of heckle

SYNONYMS FOR heckle

OTHER WORDS FROM heckle

Words nearby heckle

Words related to heckle

Example sentences from the Web for heckle

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for heckle

verb

noun

Derived forms of heckle

Word Origin for heckle

British Dictionary definitions for heckle