word-vault

{ "term": "hell", "partOfSpeech": "noun", "ox3000": true, "cefr": "b2", "definitions": [ { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "the place believed to be the home of devils and where bad people go after death", "sensetop": "in hell", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "He was terrified of **going to hell** when he died." }, { "text": "They were threatened with spending eternity in hell.", "contextForm": "in hell" }, { "text": "Lava poured out of the volcano, glowing like the fires of hell." }, { "text": "tormented souls in hell" } ], "topics": ["Religion and festivals"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["eternal"], "verb + hell": ["go to"], "hell + noun": ["fire"], "preposition": ["in hell"], "phrases": ["the fires of hell", "the flames of hell"] } }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "a very unpleasant experience or situation in which people suffer very much", "sensetop": "in hellhell for somebodyit is hell doing something", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "The last three months have been hell." }, { "text": "He **went through hell** during the trial." }, { "text": "Her parents **made her life hell**." }, { "text": "Being totally alone is my idea of **hell on earth**." }, { "text": "He was in a hell of his own making." }, { "text": "For the last few weeks my whole family has been in hell because of this.", "contextForm": "in hell" }, { "text": "Since she moved in, life has been hell for the other residents.", "contextForm": "hell for somebody" }, { "text": "It was hell getting through airport security.", "contextForm": "it is hell doing something" }, { "text": "I'm never going to escape this hell." }, { "text": "It was sheer hell having to sit through hours of boring lectures!" } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["absolute", "pure", "sheer"], "verb + hell": ["endure", "go through", "give somebody"], "preposition": ["in hell"], "phrases": ["the… from hell", "hell on earth"] } }, { "senseNumber": 3, "definition": "a swear word that some people use when they are annoyed or surprised or to emphasize something. Its use is offensive to some people.", "labels": "(North American English)", "examples": [ { "text": "Oh hell, I've burned the pan." }, { "text": "What the hell do you think you are doing?" }, { "text": "Go to hell!" }, { "text": "I can't really afford it, but, what the hell *(= it doesn't matter)*, I'll get it anyway." }, { "text": "He's as guilty as hell." }, { "text": "‘Do you understand?’ ‘Hell, no. I don't.’" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "suddenly there was a lot of noise, arguing, fighting, etc.", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "There was a loud bang and then all hell broke loose." } ], "topics": ["Opinion and argument"] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to hit somebody/something very hard", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "He was a dirty player and loved to kick hell out of the opposition." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to annoy somebody very much", "labels": "(offensive, slang)", "examples": [ { "text": "The song just bugs the hell out of me." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to be punished or spoken to angrily about something", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "If your dad finds out you'll really catch hell!" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "a lot of trouble", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "There'll be hell to pay when he finds out." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "just for fun; for no real reason", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "They stole the car just for the hell of it." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "used to describe a very unpleasant person or thing; the worst that you can imagine", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "They are the neighbours from hell." }, { "text": "It really was the holiday from hell—it rained all the time, we all got colds, and we missed the plane home." }, { "text": "She's the girlfriend from hell—I don't know why he puts up with her." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to leave a place very quickly", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "Let's get the hell out of here." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "to make life unpleasant for somebody", "examples": [ { "text": "He used to give his mother hell when he was a teenager." }, { "text": "My new shoes are giving me hell *(= are hurting me)*." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "to shout at or speak angrily to somebody", "examples": [ { "text": "Dad will give us hell when he sees that mess." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to get into a very bad state", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "This firm's gone to hell in a handbasket since the new management took over." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "as quickly as possible", "labels": "(British English, old-fashioned, informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "to ride hell for leather" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "used to refer to somebody, usually a woman, who has reacted very angrily to something, especially the fact that her husband or partner has been unfaithful", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "used to give emphasis to what a person is saying", "labels": "(slang)", "examples": [ { "text": "The firm was in a hell of a mess when he took over." }, { "text": "This holiday is going to cost a hell of a lot of money." }, { "text": "It must have been one hell of a party." }, { "text": "It’s taken him a hell of a long time to get here." }, { "text": "That's one helluva big house you've got." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "despite any difficulties", "examples": [ { "text": "I was determined to go, come hell or high water." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "used to express anger or surprise", "labels": "(British English, old-fashioned, informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "Hell’s teeth, I promised I’d be back by two." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "very fast", "labels": "(old-fashioned, informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "She was driving like a bat out of hell." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "used for emphasis", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "She worked like hell for her exams." }, { "text": "My broken finger hurt like hell." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "used when you are refusing permission or saying that something is not true", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "‘I'm coming with you.’ ‘Like hell you are *(= you certainly are not)*.’" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to have no chance at all", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to have no chance at all", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "She doesn't have a hope of winning." }, { "text": "You don't have a hope in hell of finding a job." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to have no chance at all", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that I'll wear that thing!" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to affect something/somebody badly", "labels": "(British English, informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "Driving on these rough roads has played hell with my tyres." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to protest angrily, especially in a way that causes trouble for somebody", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "it is not enough to intend to do good things; you must actually do them", "labels": "(saying)", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to frighten, annoy, etc. somebody very much", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "used to say that somebody has been through a difficult situation", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "We'd been to hell and back together and we were still good friends." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "used to express anger or dislike and to say that you no longer care about somebody/something and will take no notice of them", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "‘To hell with him,’ she thought, ‘I'm leaving.’" } ] } ], "pronunciations": { "uk": [ { "pronunciation": "/hel/", "audio": "he/hell/hell__gb_1.mp3" }, { "pronunciation": "/ˈheləvə/", "audio": "he/hell/helluva__gb_1.mp3" } ], "us": [ { "pronunciation": "/hel/", "audio": "he/hell/hell__us_1.mp3" }, { "pronunciation": "/ˈheləvə/", "audio": "he/hell/helluva__us_1.mp3" } ] }, "wordOrigin": "Old English hel, hell, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hel and German Hölle, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to cover or hide’." }