a long-eared, slow, patient, sure-footed domesticated mammal, Equus asinus, related to the horse, used chiefly as a beast of burden.
Also called wild ass. an African wild ass, kiang, onager, or any of their subspecies.
a stupid, foolish, or stubborn person.
assistant.
association.
assorted.
either of two perissodactyl mammals of the horse family ( Equidae ), Equus asinus ( African wild ass ) or E. hemionus ( Asiatic wild ass ). They are hardy and sure-footed, having longer ears than the horse
(not in technical use) the domesticated variety of the African wild ass; donkey
a foolish or ridiculously pompous person
informal not close to obtaining, winning, etc
she wasn't within an ass's roar of it
slang the buttocks
slang the anus
offensive sexual intercourse or a woman considered sexually (esp in the phrase piece of ass )
slang to take such action as one considers necessary to avoid censure, ridicule, etc at a later time
See arse.
What does -ass mean? The combining form -ass is used like a suffix meaning “ass,” in the sense of "buttocks." While occasionally -ass is meant literally or to mean "(stupid) person," more often it is used as an intensifier. Intensifiers are words or word elements that essentially mean "very" or "somewhat." The form -ass is often used in slang terms, especially vulgar or insulting ones. The form -ass comes from Old English assa, meaning “ass,” in the sense of "donkey."Unlike some other combining forms, -ass is often separated with a hyphen, as in big-ass.
First recorded before 1000; Middle English asse, Old English assa, probably a pet name or diminutive form based on a Celtic form, e.g., Old Irish asan, Old Welsh asen, from Latin asinus; akin to Greek ónos “ass,” from a non-Indo-European language of Asia Minor, e.g., Sumerian anše “ass”
First recorded in 1860–65; variant of arse, with loss of r before s, as in passel, cuss, etc.; see origin at arse
Literally, your ass is your buttocks. In slang, an ass is a jerk or an idiot. Neither is highly regarded. When people are being slangy or folksy, you hear this word a lot: "Get off your ass!" "Watch your ass!" "Why are you such an ass?" "Get your ass in here." Though this isn't one of the very worst swear words, it is considered harsher than butt and lots of people consider ass to be an inappropriate word. You would be a lot better off using softer words like bottom or tush in most situations. Sometimes ass can also mean sex — another use worth avoiding.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I lived in Vegas for almost a year, busted my ass to slowly build back up kind of a career in a sense,” he explains.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026
My young and wildly financially uneducated ass took myself to Gucci.
From Slate • Feb. 19, 2026
Just hours after the operation in Venezuela, Trump warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro to "watch his ass".
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026
“It hauls ass and tows like a beast. Metaphorically, it might as well have a Superman cape and a Captain America shield.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025
“I stood there shouting, ‘Burp, you silly ass, burp, or you’ll never come down again!
From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
