Sieg Heil

interjection

The greeting Sieg Heil, used by the Nazis, and by neo-Nazis and people comparing others to Nazis today.

Meanings

interjection
  1. historicalThe greeting Sieg Heil, used by the Nazis, and by neo-Nazis and people comparing others to Nazis today.

    And so, sometimes, did their direct effects. At many skinhead concerts, bands led fans in swastika flag-waving and chants of Sieg Heil!

    2002, John Rodden, Repainting the Little Red Schoolhouse: A History of Eastern German Education, page 202
    5 more examples

    "Ti-to! Ti-to! Ti-to!" has exactly the same rhythm and resonance as "Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!" at the Nazi demonstrations, or "Du-ce! Du-ce! Du-ce!" in Fascist Italy.

    [1971, Sydney Morrell, Spheres of Influence, page 216

    All of a sudden a number of the militant homosexuals stood up, raised their hands in a Nazi-style salute and began to chant "Sieg heil! Sieg heil! Sieg heil!" Everyone in the room was paralyzed. How could they accuse us — those who suffered and died in the Holocaust — of being Nazis?

    1991, James Davison Hunter, Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America, page 16

    Tear gas floated into the Hilton, up the air vents, and into the suite of the vice president, who was preparing his acceptance speech. On the street, chanting: "Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil, Sieg Heil," and "The Whole World Is Watching."

    1995, Terry H. Anderson, The Movement and The Sixties, page 224

    Then a few voices started to chant "Sieg heil! Sieg heil!", and these were joined by more voices, and gradually the whole assembly rose to its feet.

    2004, Paul Taylor, Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics, page 101

    The omnious vast regimented rallies we have all seen on television, with adoring crowds shouting Sieg heil! and saluting in unison, were now a feature of German social life. In 1933 Hitler was in a position to seize power.

    2007 October 8, Harry Davis, Palace of Crystal, Arena books, →ISBN
nounSieg Heil (plural Sieg Heils)

plural Sieg Heils

  1. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of Sieg Heil salute (“Nazi salute”).

    And Jerry, Jerry doing Sieg Heils around the stage then, in that crumpled suit.

    2012, Ada Wilson, “January 3rd 1990, 11am”, in Red Army Faction Blues, Pontefract, West Yorkshire: Route, →ISBN, page 200
    2 more examples

    In the other truck, Hi Hitler giggled piercingly, and the skinheads gave Sieg Heils.

    2000, Michael McClister, “The Fifth Day”, in Double Deal, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, →ISBN, page 187

    One year they fell foul of the organisers at the West German Grand Prix in some way and they kept goose stepping around the paddock, snapping their heels and doing Sieg Heils.

    2015, Chris Carter, Richard Skelton, “Sidecar racers”, in Chris Carter at Large: Stories from a Lifetime in Motorcycle Racing, Poundbury, Dorset: Veloce Publishing, →ISBN, chapter 5, pages 123–124
verbSieg Heil (third-person singular simple present Sieg Heils, present participle Sieg Heiling, simple past and past participle Sieg Heiled)

present singular third person Sieg Heils · participle present Sieg Heiling · participle past Sieg Heiled · past Sieg Heiled · alternative sieg-heil · alternative sieg heil

  1. intransitiveTo perform a Nazi salute, often while chanting Sieg Heil.

    (It’s worth noting that the video Musk posted of his speech did not show Musk performing the gesture head-on—it cut away to the crowd; a C-SPAN clip shows it in full, though.) Eventually, he will almost certainly deny that he Sieg heiled.^([sic])

    2025 January 20, Charlie Warzel, “Did He? Elon Musk either had a slipped-mask moment, or is supremely awkward.”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Jan 2025

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. GermanSieg Heil
  2. EnglishSieg Heil

Unadapted borrowing from German Sieg Heil, from Sieg (“victory”) + Heil, a common chant at political rallies in Nazi Germany, translating as “victory brings salvation” or alternatively as “salvation [to] victory” on the model of Heil Hitler.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic زِيج هَايْل
  • زِيج هَايْل (zīg hāyl)Nazi greeting
Bulgarian зиг хайл
  • зиг хайл (zig hajl)Nazi greeting
Chinese Mandarin 勝利萬歲 /胜利万岁
  • 勝利萬歲 /胜利万岁 (shènglì wànsuì)Nazi greeting
German Sieg Heil
  • Sieg HeilNazi greeting
Greek Ζήτω η Νίκη
  • Ζήτω η Νίκη (Zíto i Níki)Nazi greeting
Hebrew זיג הייל
  • זיג הייל (zig hayl)Nazi greeting
Hindi ज़ीग हाइल
  • ज़ीग हाइल (zīg hāil)Nazi greeting
Japanese ジークハイル
  • ジークハイル (jīkuhairu)Nazi greeting
Korean 지크 하일
  • 지크 하일Nazi greeting
Persian درود بر پیروزی
  • درود بر پیروزی (dorôd bar pirôzi)Nazi greeting
Russian зиг хайль
  • зиг хайль (zig xajlʹ)Nazi greeting
Swedish hell seger
  • hell segerNazi greeting
Ukrainian зіґ хайль
  • зіґ хайль (zig xajlʹ)Nazi greeting
Cite this entry
APA

Sieg Heil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sieg%20Heil

MLA

“Sieg Heil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sieg%20Heil. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sieg Heil,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sieg%20Heil.

Source: Sieg Heil on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.