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  • gross-out
    gross-out
    noun
    something that is disgustingly offensive.
  • gross out
    gross out
    verb
    to cause (a person) to feel distaste or strong dislike for (something)
Synonyms

gross-out

American  
[grohs-out] / ˈgroʊsˌaʊt /

noun

Slang.
  1. something that is disgustingly offensive.


gross out British  

verb

  1. to cause (a person) to feel distaste or strong dislike for (something)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a person or thing regarded as disgusting or objectionable

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. disgusting, boring, or objectionable

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of gross-out

First recorded in 1970–75; noun use of verb phrase gross out

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:

I came to realize I was done with teen gross-out films and soon landed more serious projects.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 7, 2025

Writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt's gross-out masterpiece "The Ugly Stepsister" jumps off the premise: "What if the story of Cinderella was really really gross?"

From Salon Apr. 7, 2025

The idea that you could see a weird gross-out movie with your family.”

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 21, 2025

Although the story loses steam as it nears the finish, unable to clearly flesh out what the madness means, the trip there is paved with gross-out mayhem.

From New York Times Jul. 21, 2023

I think this: Better I am a sweater than a gross-out.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor

The filthy combination of it all merged into a gigantic germ inside of me, causing me to gross out myself — in addition to Mr. James and the rest of the internal staff.

From Salon Jun. 19, 2023

Occasionally, all this goop and glop is used to gross out viewers.

From Washington Post Dec. 3, 2021

It’s never there to gross out viewers or to test their threshold of shock or disgust.

From The New Yorker Mar. 23, 2019

“Moist is fine,” the writer says, and he has no problems with other seemingly mundane words that oddly gross out large swaths of the English-speaking population.

From Slate Apr. 1, 2013

Everything tasted gross out of plastic, all chemical-y and bland.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

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