Noun a small-town hector with no job and lots of time on his hands Verb The judge ordered the attorney to stop hectoring the witness. the children used to constantly hector the poor dog, and now he growls at everybody

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Photo: hector retamal/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Seven hours into the march, Mrs. Lam apologized to the Hong Kong people for mishandling the bill. Wenxin Fan, WSJ, "Hong Kong Marchers Flood Streets Over Extradition Bill," 16 June 2019

Mr. Liggett sometimes used his art to hector neighbors in a score of grievances. Donald Frazier, Washington Post, "M.T. Liggett, who lined a highway with politically provocative art, dies at 86," 26 Aug. 2017

THE young woman with the microphone cajoles, hectors and wheedles customers with the breathless enthusiasm of a livestock auctioneer at a county fair. The Economist, "More money, less freedomSouth-East Asia’s future looks prosperous but illiberal," 18 July 2017

Trump’s proposals to match China’s import fees and to hector companies into keeping jobs in the United States represent a huge threat to the mercantilist Asian economic model. Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register, "The end of the Asian era," 2 Apr. 2017

Schwarzenegger liked to hector state residents on global warming and green energy, and brag about his commitment to wind and solar power. Victor Davis Hanson, The Mercury News, "Hanson: In California, leaders don’t sweat the big stuff," 9 Mar. 2017

Like Chaffetz, the South Carolina congressman used his position in the House to investigate and hector Hillary Clinton throughout her time as a presidential candidate. OregonLive.com, "The anti-impeachment crowd: Donald Trump's 20 greatest enablers (Commentary)," 30 June 2017

Regardless, that scene between Matt and Nora was one of the most moving the show has offered, with Nora grateful for Matt’s company and lack of judgment, and Matt determined to just be there for her, and not hector or sermonize. Spencer Kornhaber And Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Leftovers: A Nicer Story," 4 June 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

On Twitter, meteorologists who dared to hector their followers about the storm’s proper nomenclature received an earful from Iowans furious about the relative lack of national attention the storm had garnered. Brianna Provenzano, refinery29.com, "Thousands Of Iowans Are Still Homeless, Let’s Not Argue About The Word “Derecho”," 17 Aug. 2020

From the start, Greeley hectored, lectured, and criticized the president, while offering him unsolicited and wildly inconsistent advice. John Strausbaugh, National Review, "Horace Greeley’s Ill-Fated Crusades," 19 Dec. 2019

President Trump has been hectoring the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, and financial markets are screaming for a cut. Don Lee, latimes.com, "Is the Federal Reserve about to cave to Trump’s demand to cut interest rates?," 18 June 2019

But life at a high-desert elevation has given them the endurance to compete, and once Mendoza’s hectoring sinks in, the book becomes a gripping, propulsive story about a playoff run. Mark Athitakis, Washington Post, "‘Canyon Dreams’ is more than a book about basketball," 22 Nov. 2019

Both women know that forceful men are all often described as strong and assertive, while forceful women are dismissed as angry, emasculating or hectoring. Charlotte Alter, Time, "Gender Politics at the Democratic Debate Show How Hard It Is To Fight Like a Girl," 21 Nov. 2019

As long as Sutter’s voice doesn’t have the strident, hectoring tone that turned Kings players against him late in his tenure, this could be fascinating. Los Angeles Times, "Column: Darryl Sutter provides ‘positive influence’ on Ducks’ coaching staff," 3 Oct. 2019

After more than a decade of hectoring from the security community, for example, medical device manufacturers have recently started making long overdue improvements to implantable devices like pacemakers and insulin pumps. Wired, "It's Time for IoT Security's Next Big Step," 11 Sep. 2019

At this point, the most pressing question for the Sanders camp is not whether students in the first nominating state will caucus for a dishevelled, hectoring septuagenarian over his younger opponents but whether enough students will caucus at all. Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, "Bernie Sanders’s Enduring Appeal to the Youth Vote in Iowa," 11 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hector.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.