hiss
verb (used without object)
to make or emit a sharp sound like that of the letter s prolonged, as a snake does, or as steam does when forced under pressure through a small opening.
hiss
1 American
[his]
/ hɪs /
verb (used without object)
-
hisses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hissed,
past participle, past
-
hissing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
hisses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hissed,
past participle, past
-
hissing
present participle
noun
-
hisses
plural
Hiss
2
American
[his]
/ hɪs /
noun
hiss
1
British
/ hɪs /
noun
-
a voiceless fricative sound like that of a prolonged s
-
such a sound uttered as an exclamation of derision, contempt, etc, esp by an audience or crowd
-
electronics receiver noise with a continuous spectrum, caused by thermal agitation, shot noise, etc
interjection
verb
-
(intr) to produce or utter a hiss
-
(tr) to express with a hiss, usually to indicate derision or anger
-
(tr) to show derision or anger towards (a speaker, performer, etc) by hissing
Hiss
2
British
/ hɪs /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hisssimple
-
hissessimple
-
have hissedperfect
-
has hissedperfect
-
am hissingprogressive
-
are hissingprogressive
-
is hissingprogressive
-
have been hissingperfect progressive
-
has been hissingperfect progressive
Past
-
hissedsimple
-
had hissedperfect
-
was hissingprogressive
-
were hissingprogressive
-
had been hissingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hiss
1350–1400; Middle English hissen; probably imitative; compare Old English hyscan to jeer at, rail (derivative of husc jeering; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German hosc )
Explanation
To hiss is to make a long s sound. Snakes are known to hiss, and sometimes unhappy audience members will hiss instead of booing. The sound you make when you hiss — also called a hiss — sounds just like the word itself. In fact, you can't say the word without hissing. This type of sound is also known as sibilance, a consonant that's pronounced when a stream of air passes through teeth that are touching or close together. A barista's steaming wand hisses as she foams milk, and some types of snakes hiss in warning.
Vocabulary lists containing hiss
Instead of "Said": Vexed Verbiage to Express Anger
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"LAFFF"
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Selection Vocabulary 4, Unit 4
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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:
Not a call of the wild, a roar or a hiss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Considering the jumped-up summer performance tires, road and tire hiss at speed were minimal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Play Under The Rain or Breathe Again and you'll hear a telltale hiss running throughout the tracks.
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
Insults hit her with a knife-like hiss of air; fresh schemes get her charging around to Hildur Guðnadóttir’s tumultuous, percussive score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025
The steam engine gave another hiss, and the wheels began to roll.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
"Hiss" will live in the hall of fame of top-tier hip-hop diss tracks.
From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2024
Nicki clapped back after Megan's new track Hiss appeared to reference her, and released her own diss track, Big Foot, in return.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2024
Just as his band Hiss Golden Messenger was beginning to earn attention, Taylor worked as Gerrard’s assistant at Duke University, where she briefly taught a course in documenting traditional music.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2022
His belief was formed during his years in Congress, where he made his name investigating Alger Hiss, a former State Department official accused of spying for the Russians.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2022
President Truman called the trial a "red herring," and Secretary of State Dean Acheson declared, "I do not intend to turn my back on Alger Hiss."
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
I’m particularly fond of how the Na’vi express themselves in hisses and coyote yips and exhale the foreign name Jake Sully like a sneeze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
As the helium hisses out, the volunteers flatten the plastic skin, tucking in Snoopy’s ears or SpongeBob’s nose to prepare for the final roll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025
In North Africa and the Levant, it’s shakshuka: eggs poached in a rich, spiced tomato sauce that hisses when it hits the pan and settles into something molten and slow.
From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2025
The only sounds definitively recorded from adult female ostriches were hisses.
From Science Daily ● May 23, 2024
Finally, he begins mumbling, but it’s not words, it’s just guttural sounds, faint clicks and hisses.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
He was unappreciated for much of his life—even hissed at in performance—and at times gave up composing entirely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
At the bank's annual general meeting that year, normally sedate elderly shareholders hissed and booed.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
“It’s called negotiations,” Trump hissed at a reporter who asked him about it Wednesday.
From Salon ● May 29, 2025
“I never met the woman,” Trump hissed at his attorney, Habba, as both sides were discussing the potential scope of his testimony before the jurors entered the room.
From Slate ● Jan. 25, 2024
She dragged the shark out of the wagon and across the biggest vent, where steam hissed out between the stones.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
I caught the film at a recent matinee in New Orleans, and children and adults alike gasped at Harryhausen’s movie monsters – from the looming metal colossus of Telos to the hissing and slithering Hydra.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
People often describe it as ringing, buzzing, hissing, or whooshing in one or both ears.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
The cistern on my toilet has been constantly refilling and making a hissing noise, so I asked a plumbing company to send someone over.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
They found Madagascar "hissing" cockroaches, a bulky insect named for its noisy defence mechanism, and dubia cockroaches, an invasive critter bred as a snack for pet lizards.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
Feeling slightly reassured, but still very uneasy, Matthias circled the pool, trying hard to ignore the loathsome hissing sound.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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