DictionaryAI

puss

noun
PUUS/pʊs/

Pluralpusses

8 meanings of puss

Practice

  1. 1
    catnouncolloquialterm of addresscountable or uncountable
    A cat, often as a name used when speaking to one.

    Grandma bent down and cooed, "Who's a good puss, then?" as the cat rubbed against her ankles.

    A fat orange puss sat in the bakery window, watching people go by.

    UsageNo article when calling a cat: here, puss. Still known from Puss in Boots.

    Similarkitty, cat, moggy

    Note

    The word probably came from Middle Low German pūse or Dutch poes, and perhaps from the very sound people make to call a cat, which suits a word so often spoken to one: come here, puss. As a form of address it needs no article, and the old name lives on in the title Puss in Boots.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  2. 2
    yellow liquidnounnonstandarduncountable
    Misspelling of pus, the thick yellowish fluid that forms in infected tissue.

    The blister had filled with puss by the next morning.

    Thick yellow puss leaked from the wound until the doctor drained it.

    Note

    Pus is the usual spelling for the fluid of an infected wound, and the double-s form is a misspelling that invites a reader to see the cat word instead.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  3. 3
    facenounslangcountable
    A person's face or mouth.

    The catcher took a foul ball right in the puss and stayed in the game.

    One look at his gloomy puss told me the meeting had gone badly.

    UsageOften in the puss: a pie right in the puss. Jokey and a little rough.

    Similarface, mug, kisser

    Note

    A face on the receiving end is the usual one: a slap in the puss, a foul ball right in the puss, or a face wearing a mood, like a gloomy puss. It comes from Irish pus, 'mouth, lip', and the tone is jokey and a little rough, never the word for a face in a portrait.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  4. 4
    private partsnounslangvulgarcountable or uncountable
    The vulva; the external female genitals.

    Similarvulva

    Note

    The Dutch poes, a probable source of the cat word, carries this meaning as well, so English is not alone in the overlap. It is coarse slang, at home only in intimate or deliberately crude talk; vulva is the word for medical, legal or any neutral use.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

  5. 5
    cowardnounslangvulgarCanadaUScountable or uncountable
    A cowardly or weak person who is unable to stand up for themselves.

    Quit being a puss and tell your boss you want the raise.

    He knew he was being a puss, but he still couldn't bring himself to ask his roommate for the rent money.

    UsageOften in dares: quit being a puss. It hits harder than wuss and can offend even as teasing.

    Similarwimp, wuss, coward, chicken, sissy

    Note

    The insult is heard chiefly in the US and Canada, often as a dare: quit being a puss and ask for the raise. Being the same word as the slang for the vulva, it lands much harder than coward or wuss and can offend even when it is meant as teasing.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  6. 6
    nounslangvulgarmetonymicallyuncountable
    Sex with a woman.

    Similarsex

    Note

    It names sex by the body part and treats it as a thing to be got, which makes it demeaning as well as vulgar. It is used without a or an, and it has no place outside deliberately crude talk; sex is the neutral word.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The sexual sense is a metonymic use of the word for the female genitalia. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

  1. 7
    child (pet name)noundatedendearingcountable or uncountable
    An affectionate name for a girl or young woman, or for any child.

    "Don't cry, puss," her grandfather said, wiping her tears away with his handkerchief.

    The nanny adored all the children, especially the little puss who followed her everywhere.

    Similarpoppet, pet, sweetie, darling

    Note

    Grown-ups once used it fondly in direct address to a little girl or any small child, the way sweetie works now: run along to bed, puss. It sounds quaint today, and because a vulgar meaning shares the spelling, it is safest kept to family talk with young children.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

  2. 8
    harenoundatedcountable or uncountable
    A hare, especially as hunters speak of one.

    Similarhare

    Note

    Hunters spoke of the hare as puss, usually without an article and almost as a proper name: puss doubled back to her form, puss is not far off. Henry Fielding gives the field cry in 1749: "Soho! Puss is not far off. Here's her form." Today readers will take the word for a cat unless hounds, hares or a hunt are in view.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Hunters used puss for a hare, without an article and like a proper name. rosemarkethistory.org.uk
    • Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, which contains the passage, was first published in 1749. en.wikipedia.org
    • The quoted words occur in Tom Jones, Book V, Chapter XII; Squire Western speaks them. The item excerpts the speech, ending before its continuation. gutenberg.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of puss apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 4–8

The likely source is Dutch poes ("puss, cat," and in slang also "vulva") or Middle Low German pūse, pūskatte. These go back to a common Germanic word for cat, which may imitate a sound people make to get a cat's attention. Relatives include West Frisian poes, Low German Puus, and Danish and Norwegian pus. Similar words turn up in other languages across Europe, North Africa and Asia, for example Romanian pisică and Tagalog pusa.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

  • Puss probably comes from Dutch poes or Middle Low German pūse, pūskatte. en.wiktionary.org
  • Dutch poes means cat and also has a slang genital sense. en.wikipedia.org
  • The proposed sources ultimately derive from a common Germanic cat word, possibly imitating a call used to attract cats. en.wiktionary.org
  • Related forms include West Frisian poes, Low German Puus, Danish pus and Norwegian pus. en.wiktionary.org
  • Similar forms occur in languages of Europe, North Africa and Asia. en.wiktionary.org
  • Romanian pisică is a comparable cat word. en.wiktionary.org
  • Tagalog pusa is a comparable cat word. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 3

Irish pus ("mouth, lip"), which goes back to Middle Irish bus, is either the source of this Celtic word or a relative of it.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts