eff
verb (used with or without object)
fuck.
eff
1 American
[ef]
/ ɛf /
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb phrase
eff.
2
American
abbreviation
-
efficient, efficiency.
-
effective, effectiveness.
eff
British
/ ɛf /
verb
-
taboo euphemism for fuck
eff off
-
slang to use obscene language
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of eff
1940–45; euphemism for fuck, with eff as spelled form of the name of the initial letter
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.
Almost everyone spells it out, saying “en eff tee.”
From The Verge • Jun. 6, 2022
“I spend good quality time with my husband, I like to go eff around in the garden for a while. I get massages. I get my toenails painted – whatever,” she says with a laugh.
From The Guardian • Sep. 25, 2020
Saints deserved far more than the square root of eff all they got from recent visits to Anfield and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Burnley have recently won at Old Trafford.
From The Guardian • Feb. 15, 2020
GMT07:35 35 mins: Worth noting that, improved as Chelsea have been, with Willian, Oscar and Hazard in particular doing good work, Cesc Fabregas has done the square root of eff all.
From The Guardian • Nov. 29, 2015
By dint of a little scraping he managed to draw one edge of it through the "eff" hole and the next moment he was examining the faded printing.
From Abe and Mawruss Being Further Adventures of Potash and Perlmutter by Glass, Montague
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.
