Etymology
Origin of hissing
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.
On “Situation,” the hissing hi-hat hinted at on earlier tracks becomes explicit and the rhythm is officially disco, though with a twangy urban cowboy version of the beat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
A slow, steady hissing noise comes from the table, similar to air leaking from a tire.
From Science Daily • Nov. 24, 2025
Yet that allegiance puts it uncomfortably close to hissing, “Look what you made me do.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2025
Those voters are the equivalent of Robin Williams imitating a six-year-old sticking their tongue out and hissing, “I know you are but what am I?”
From Salon • May 29, 2025
Today there was just the small yellow pool splattering slimy bubbles, and the rocks around—too hot to touch, hissing steam from every crack.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
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.
