cuss

cuss

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʌs/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌs

Etymology 1

American English dialect pronunciation of curse.

Verb

cuss (third-person singular simple present cusses, present participle cussing, simple past and past participle cussed)

1. (chiefly US, colloquial) To use cursing, to use bad language, to speak profanely.
   • 1899, H. G. Wells, Mr. Brisher's Treasure

     I went over the fence like a shot, and ran like one o'clock for the trap, cussing and swearing as I went.

Derived terms

• cuss out
• cussy
• mooncusser

Translations

to use cursing

Bulgarian: проклинам (bg) (proklinam), ругая (bg) (rugaja) Czech: nadávat (cs) impf, klít (cs) impf Danish: bande (da) Dutch: vervloeken (nl) Finnish: kiroilla (fi) French: jurer (fr) German: fluchen (de) Greek: βλασφημώ (el) (vlasfimó), βλαστημώ (el) (vlastimó) Norwegian: Bokmål: banne (no) Nynorsk: banna (nn) Polish: bluzgać impf, bluznąć pf Russian: руга́ться (ru) (rugátʹsja) Swedish: svära (sv) Turkish: küfretmek (tr)

Noun

cuss (plural cusses)

1. (chiefly US, colloquial) A curse.
2. (chiefly US, colloquial) A curse word.

Derived terms

• cuss word
• give a tinker's cuss
• tinker's cuss

 

Etymology 2

Clipping of customer.

Noun

cuss (plural cusses)

1. (dated, chiefly US, colloquial, derogatory) A fellow, person.
   • 1922, A. M. Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate

     Seemingly here was an intruder who was violating custom. Moreover, the partners had come to look upon this exceedingly rich district as their exclusive property. And so their indignation was extreme.
     "The low-down, ornery cuss!" said Dobbs. "The nerve of him, crowdin' in on us, just as if there wasn't lots of other places for him to go!"

   • 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter I, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, page 6:

     "Proud young cuss, aren't you?" "Apparently - I don't know." "Or is it you are just pig-headed?"

   • 2012, Robin Oakley, Britain and Ireland's Top 100 Racehorses of All Time

     Dawn Run's owner, Charmian Hill, who had insisted on trainer Paddy Mullins 'jocking off' his son Tony and putting up Jonjo O'Neill to ride her in the Gold Cup, was an awkward cuss too.

Anagrams

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