Geez
noun
a Semitic language of ancient Ethiopia, now used only as the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Church.
Geez
American
[gee-ez, gay-]
/ giˈɛz, geɪ- /
Or
Ge'ez
noun
Ge'ez
British
/ ˈɡiːɛz /
noun
Usage
What else does geez mean? The word geez is an informal way to express surprise, disappointment, frustration, annoyance, or exasperation. Geez can also be spelled jeez. It’s an interjection, meaning it’s typically said by itself (instead of as part of a sentence) to express some kind of emotion. It’s usually used before or after another statement, as in I wasn’t implying that at all. Geez. The term geez can be used in both negative and positive contexts, but it’s more often used negatively to express frustration with what someone has said or done. Geez comes from a shortening of Jesus, which makes it a euphemism—a milder way of saying something that may be considered offensive, blasphemous, or harsh. Many other words like this (often called mild oaths or minced oaths) are formed in a similar way. The word gosh, for example, is an alteration of the word God. Geez is commonly used in the phrase geez louise, which means the same thing as geez but is usually used in more humorous situations. (The name Louise is probably just added as a rhyme). Unrelatedly, the word Geez (or Ge’ez) is a name for a Semitic language of ancient Ethiopia, now used only as a ceremonial language of the Ethiopian Church. Example: Geez, Tim, you don’t have to be such a jerk.
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:
Until her father's arrest, Hanna remembers September as being full of hope with its three big Orthodox Christian festivals, including the Geez New Year.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
BOB AS LEONARD: Geez, you should have warned me.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 6, 2023
Geez, the guy gave many years of blood, sweat and maybe even tears.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2022
I thought "Geez . . . what happened to my stomach ???" My husband said "No you're food pregnant silly!!!"
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2022
“Of course I am! Geez, Mom. Stop being so weird.”
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
On learning that the country uses its own Ge'ez calendar, he exclaimed: "Wait! It's... 2018. I'm only 13? Ronaldo is still at Real Madrid?"
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026
Yet Christianity continued to spread, and inscriptions of the time show biblical passages being translated into Ge’ez.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
A written Semitic language known as Ge’ez survives in inscriptions from this period.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
The region was once a tourist attraction, with visitors drawn to its rock-hewn churches, Muslim shrines and ancient scripts in the Ge'ez language.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2022
The inscription on Ezana’s stele is written in Ge’ez, the language brought to Aksum by its early Arab inhabitants.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
