emphasis You use the heck in expressions such as `what the heck' and `how the heck' in order to emphasize a question, especially when you are puzzled or annoyed. What the heck's that? The question was, where the heck was he?
feelings You say `what the heck' to indicate that you do not care about a bad aspect of an action or situation. What the heck, I thought, I'll give it a whirl. Used as an intensive: had a heck of a lot of money; was crowded as heck
emphasis People use a heck of to emphasize how big something is or how much of it there is. They're spending a heck of a lot of money The truth is, I'm in one heck of a mess
An apparatus for separating the threads of warps into sets, as they are wound upon the reel from the bobbins, in a warping machine