arse
Americannoun
noun
-
the buttocks
-
the anus
-
a stupid person; fool
-
sexual intercourse
-
effrontery; cheek
-
to start to do something seriously and quickly
Sensitive Note
In American English, ass in the senses "the buttocks; the rectum" is considered to be a vulgar, impolite usage. The variant arse , which is chiefly British and regarded as vulgar by speakers of British English, seems to some American speakers to be a less vulgar, even daintier term than the more explicit ass . But this may not always be the case in America, so one should be just as cautious about using arse when in a polite setting.
Usage
Dating back at least a thousand years, and taboo till around the middle of the 20th century, this venerable ``Anglo-Saxon'' word now seems unlikely to cause offence in all but the most formal contexts. Its acceptability has possibly been helped by such useful verb formations as ``to arse about'' and ``I can't be arsed''
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of arse
First recorded before 1000; Middle English ars, er(e)s, Old English ærs, ears; cognate with Old Frisian ers, Dutch aars, Old Norse, Middle Low German, Old Saxon, Old High German ars ( German Arsch ), Greek órrhos “rump” (from orso-, which occurs in compounds), Armenian or̄kh, Hittite arras; akin to Greek ourá and Old Irish err “tail.” All of the nouns derive from the Proto-Indo-European root ers-, ors- “backside, buttocks, tail.” Cf. ass 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Brits are the people who seem to cultivate it more than others and have named its fruit “the cat arse fruit” for obvious reasons.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
Princess Diana's brother on Wednesday refuted former President Donald Trump's claim that his late sister wanted to "kiss his arse."
From Salon ● Mar. 16, 2023
"Remember life has given you this chance: you didn't dodge the honour, you didn't arse it up: you defended the Motherland, all of you were ready to die in these past 180 days," he said.
From Reuters ● Jan. 5, 2023
"It was just meant to make sure people weren't left on their arse," he said in a video posted to Twitter.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2020
Straight off he tripped over a frozen tire rut, went flying, and landed on his arse.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
"There is no shortage of the corporate manoeuverings, jockeyings for position, eyes on chances and arses being covered that we have come to expect of America's most monstrous family company," she went on.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2021
No, without wishing to pre-empt the conclusions of questers from Lord Justice Leveson to the Treasury committee to the people sighing "why are our overlords such arses?" into their pints, I can't see it happening.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 6, 2012
It is clear what kind of viewer he is aiming at and pandering to from the off, as he promises to get the prisoners "off their arses".
From The Guardian ● Jun. 26, 2012
It was he who judged the days after Jade Goody's death to be the perfect moment to brand her "ignorant" and "puerile" and just another one of those "poor benighted people making arses of themselves".
From The Guardian ● Oct. 14, 2010
Lose that fight an' we'd be on our arses.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
