four-letter word

American  

[fawr-let-er, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌlɛt ər, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

1. any of a number of short words, usually of four letters, considered offensive or vulgar because of their reference to excrement or sex.

2. any word, typically of four letters, that represents something forbidden, disliked, or regarded with extreme distaste.

   In the dieter's vocabulary, “cake” is a four-letter word.

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four-letter word British  

noun

1. any of several short English words referring to sex or excrement: often used as swearwords and regarded generally as offensive or obscene

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four-letter word Idioms  

1. Any of several short English words that are generally regarded as vulgar or obscene. For example, No four-letter words are permitted in this classroom. This expression is applied mostly to words describing excretory or sexual functions. [First half of 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of four-letter word

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

That four-letter word should put them on notice, if this is a scam.

From MarketWatch

"That's why golf is the worst four-letter word in the world," he joked afterwards.

From BBC

“I did miss on a four-letter word, so my weakness tends to be those super short, tricky words, and I worked on compiling those into one list,” Shradha said.

From Seattle Times

“You have the right to use four-letter words.”

From Seattle Times

“We are all allotted an unknown but finite number of hours of consciousness,” Ebert observes in his famous 2008 essay “ ’Critic’ is a four-letter word” which, unsurprisingly, is considered some version of the critic’s scripture.

From Salon

Related Words

• expletive
• obscenity
• profanity
• vulgarity