hell-bent for leather
"hell-bent-for-leather" is a 18-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hell-bent for leather” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 21
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - determinedly recklessly, in a manner that lacks restraint.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hell-bent-for-leather · hell-bent for leather · English
hell-bent for leather · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 21 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hell-bent for leather |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| Letters | 21 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hell-bent for leather” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
hell-bent for leather is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for hell-bent for leather in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Apparently a blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather, though sometimes said to have been initially applied to animals which behaved poorly as if they were bent on being turned into leather. The correct English form is hell-bent for leather, spelled H-E-L-L---B-E-N-T- -F-O-R- -L-E-A-T-H-E-R.
Definition
- 1determinedly recklessly, in a manner that lacks restraint.
- 2Synonym of hell-for-leather (“very fast”).
- 3Synonym of hell-bent (“(recklessly) determined”).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hell-bent for leather appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[...] his Supply Officer was hell bent for leather to torpedo his tour as the Commanding Officer and wanted explanations, or at least reassurances.
She had been through several programs, to no avail; nothing worked, she was hell-bent for leather, she was intent on hurting herself.
Etymology
Apparently a blend of hell-bent + hell-for-leather, though sometimes said to have been initially applied to animals which behaved poorly as if they were bent on being turned into leather.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
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Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.