heckle

verb

heck·​le ˈhe-kəl 

heckled; heckling ˈhe-k(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

: to harass and try to disconcert with questions, challenges, or gibes : badger

Synonyms

• bait
• hassle
• haze
• needle
• ride
• taunt
• tease

Choose the Right Synonym for heckle

bait, badger, heckle, hector, chivy, hound mean to harass by efforts to break down.

bait implies wanton cruelty or delight in persecuting a helpless victim.

baited the chained dog

badger implies pestering so as to drive a person to confusion or frenzy.

badgered her father for a car

heckle implies persistent annoying or belligerent interruptions of a speaker.

drunks heckled the stand-up comic

hector carries an implication of bullying and domineering.

football players hectored by their coach

chivy suggests persecution by teasing or nagging.

chivied the new student mercilessly

hound implies unrelenting pursuit and harassing.

hounded by creditors

Examples of heckle in a Sentence

Several protesters were heckling the speaker at the rally.

The players were being heckled by the fans.

People in the crowd were booing and heckling as she tried to speak.

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2022, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert heckled former President Biden and were not censured. —Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2025

No member of Congress should have heckled Trump, as did Rep. Al Green of Texas. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2025

Biden was repeatedly heckled by Republicans at his State of the Union addresses, with one Republican guest even getting arrested in 2024 for yelling at Biden about the 2021 Kabul airport bombing. —Andrew Solender, Axios, 5 Mar. 2025

During President Joe Biden's State of the Union speeches between 2022 and 2024, Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Georgia, heckled the former president. —Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 5 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English hekelen to dress flax, scratch, from heckele hackle; akin to Old High German hāko hook — more at hook

First Known Use

circa 1825, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for heckle

• decal
• freckle
• meckel
• shekel
• speckle
• thecal

Kids Definition

heckle

verb

heck·​le ˈhek-əl 

heckled; heckling -(ə-)liŋ 

: to interrupt with questions or comments usually with the intention of annoying or hindering

were heckling the speaker

heckler

-(ə-)lər 

noun