adjective, adverb Pronunciation Spelling.
- hell of a (used as an intensifier): We had a helluva time getting through the heavy traffic. She’s a helluva good player!
adverb, adjective informal
- (intensifier)a helluva difficult job; he’s a helluva guy
- Southern African (intensifier)it’s helluva tough out here
1910, attempt to represent the casual pronunciation of expression hell of a _____, which is attested from 1776 (see hell).