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''
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.
He added: "It got to the point where I needed to join Pink Ladies Anonymous. It's a wonder I didn't wake up one day with an apple tree sprouting out of my arse."
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2025
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
Wayne Nashend booted my arse as I got up.
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.
