geez

1. 1
   interjectioneuphemistic

   An exclamation used to express surprise or frustration.

   Geez, you scared me half to death sneaking up like that!

   Geez, I can't believe they raised the rent again.

   Similarsheesh, blimey, golly, crikey, cripes

   Note

   A minced oath: the name Jesus clipped and softened until the exclamation no longer counts as swearing. That softening is the point. It keeps company with other mild stand-ins like heck, and tone decides whether it lands as surprise or exasperation. Sheesh does much the same job. Despite the shared spelling, it is a separate word from the slang term for a man, which comes from geezer.

2. 2
   nounslangIrelandUK

   A casual term of address for a man, used between male acquaintances.

   Alright, geez? Haven't seen you down the pub in ages.

   Give us a hand with this, geez, would you?

   Similarbuddy, dude, chum, bud, bruv

   Note

   Slang from the UK and Ireland, clipped from geezer and used to hail a man directly rather than to talk about one: "Hi geez, you alright?" It sits naturally in a greeting or as a tag at the end of a sentence. Like most slang forms of address, it belongs to casual speech and would jar anywhere more formal.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2