verb
heckle
HEH-kuhl
verb
1
To interrupt a speaker or performer with mocking comments or aggressive questions.
"The comedian handled the drunk guy heckling him from the front row with ease."
"Protesters heckled the politician throughout his speech."
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.
Common mistake
Not the same as simply "booing" — heckling usually involves actual words or questions, not just noise.
Common pairings
heckle the speaker
get heckled
hecklers in the crowd
Word Forms
heckled past tense, heckles singular
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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.