Meanings
plural heshers
- slangA diehard enthusiast of heavy metal music.
That guy has long hair, rides a motorcycle, and wears t-shirts of his favorite heavy metal bands with a leather jacket to his college classes. He is a hesher.
2 more examples
You remember the heshers. Those guys who hung out in the back corner of the high-school parking lot, listening to the Scorps on the stereo in their souped-up Chevy Nova with the mag wheels and dual overhead cams.
1994, SPIN, volume 9, number 12, page 30To be a hesher, you blared the more rebellious Heavy Metal music of the day (AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Accept), drove a muddy pick-up truck to school every day, and wore a blue jean jacket and shit-kicker boots everywhere.
2012, Stewart Dean Ebersole, Jared Castaldi, David A. Ensminger, Barred for Life, page 76
Origin
Derived from Hessian: so called due to long hair and warlike personality akin to that of the Hessian mercenaries.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
hesher. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hesher
“hesher.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hesher. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hesher,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hesher.
Source: hesher on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.