Meaning
In informal British English and Multicultural London English, hench describes someone whose body looks notably big, strong, muscular, or well-built, especially as a result of exercise.
How it is used
Cambridge Dictionary defines hench as informal UK English for a body that looks big, strong, and well shaped, especially through exercise. Cambridge sociolinguistics teaching material explicitly lists hench meaning physically fit or strong among lexical features associated with Multicultural London English. Modern British media discussions of MLE also use hench as recognizable vocabulary, while the word has spread far enough that a present-day use should not be treated as geographically exclusive to London.
Examples
- “He's looking hench after months in the gym.”
- “That defender is proper hench.”
- “She was stronger than the henchest person in the group.”
Pronunciation
/hentʃ/ · HENCH
Tone and register
Usually approving, impressed, teasing, or matter-of-fact, but comments about another person's body can be intrusive or unwelcome depending on relationship and setting.
Visitor guidance
Visitors should understand hench as big, strong, or muscular rather than assuming it means merely attractive. Avoid using it to comment on a stranger's body or to stereotype MLE speakers by appearance, race, class, gym culture, or clothing. The word is now wider British informal vocabulary even though its MLE association remains linguistically useful.
Cultural context
Hench shows how MLE-associated vocabulary can move into wider British speech while keeping a traceable London sociolinguistic context. Cambridge material treats MLE as a multiethnic urban contact variety rather than the property of one ethnic group, and specifically names hench among its lexical resources. That matters because popular portrayals often turn MLE vocabulary into a caricature of a single kind of young man; the language itself is more socially diverse than that stereotype.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.