To heckle means to interrupt a speaker or performer with rude comments, jokes, or critical remarks, usually from the audience. When someone heckles a comedian, they might shout negative comments during the performance, trying to throw the comedian off their rhythm. When a politician gets heckled during a speech, audience members might yell disagreements or mocking questions to disrupt what they're saying.

A heckler is someone who does this repeatedly. Stand-up comedians sometimes become skilled at responding to hecklers with quick, clever comebacks that shut the heckling down while making the rest of the audience laugh.

You might see heckling at comedy clubs, political rallies, or sports events, anywhere someone has a captive audience that an attention-seeker might try to disrupt.