shh

Formsshhes, shhing, shhed

Pluralshhes, shhs

1. 1
   interjection

   Said to tell someone to stop talking and be quiet.

   Like putting a finger to your lips to ask for quiet.

   Shh, the movie is starting!

   Shh, you'll wake the baby if you keep talking.

   Similarquiet

   Note
2. 2
   interjection

   Said softly to calm someone who is upset or crying.

   Like gently rocking a baby to help it stop crying.

   Shh, it's okay, Mommy's here now.

   Shh, don't cry. Everything will be fine.

3. 3
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To make a soft hushing sound, often to ask someone to be quiet.

   The teacher had to shh the noisy class twice.

   Everyone started to shh when the lights went down.

   Similarshush, hush, silence, quiet

   Note
4. 4
   nouncountable

   A soft hushing sound made to ask people to be quiet.

   He let out a long shh to quiet the room.

   One sharp shh from the teacher stopped all the chatter.

   Similarhush

   Note
5. 5
   noununcountableabbreviation

   see sonic hedgehog

   Another way of writing SHH, short for the gene sonic hedgehog. Used in science writing about how bodies grow before birth.

   Scientists study shh to learn how organs form in an embryo.

   The shh gene helps a baby's body take shape before birth.

   Note

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