heckle
Heckle (verb) means to interrupt a speaker or performer with mocking comments or aggressive questions. Example: “The comedian handled the drunk guy heckling him from the front row with ease.”
How to use heckle
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishShouting rude comments or tough questions at someone speaking in public to throw them off or embarrass them.
Not the same as simply "booing" — heckling usually involves actual words or questions, not just noise.
Word forms
- Third person singular
- heckles
- Past tense
- heckled
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
Protesters _____ the politician throughout his speech.
Etymology
Originally meant "to comb out flax with a heckle," a toothed tool for separating fibers. The word later shifted to mean tearing into a speaker's arguments the same way you'd comb through flax.
