hell of a
idiom
informal + somewhat impolite
1
—used to make a statement more forceful
It was one hell of a good fight.
He is one hell of a nice guy.
2
: very good
She's a hell of a player.
3
: very bad or difficult
We've been having a hell of a time trying to finish on schedule.
This is a hell of a mess we're in.
Examples of hell of a in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To paraphrase the musician Rick James, primacy is a hell of a drug.
—
Nancy Okail, Foreign Affairs, 3 Dec. 2024
Lots of work will go in over the coming months to continue to develop him, but a hell of a talent.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 26 Nov. 2024
Critically, European films are having a hell of a year.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024
But the show did produce one hell of a first installment.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 11 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hell of a 
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Nancy Okail, Foreign Affairs, 3 Dec. 2024
Lots of work will go in over the coming months to continue to develop him, but a hell of a talent.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 26 Nov. 2024
Critically, European films are having a hell of a year.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024
But the show did produce one hell of a first installment.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 11 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hell of a
Dictionary Entries Near hell of a
Cite this Entry
“Hell of a.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hell%20of%20a. Accessed 3 Jan. 2025.
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