Jump To:

• jess
  jess

  noun

  a short strap fastened around the leg of a hawk and attached to the leash.
• Jess
  Jess

  noun

  a male or female given name, form of Jesse, Jessie, or Jessica.

jess

¹ American  

[jes] / dʒɛs /

noun

1. a short strap fastened around the leg of a hawk and attached to the leash.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to put jesses on (a hawk).

Jess ² American  

[jes] / dʒɛs /

noun

1. a male or female given name, form of Jesse, Jessie, or Jessica.

---

jess British  

/ dʒɛs /

noun

1. a short leather strap, one end of which is permanently attached to the leg of a hawk or falcon while the other can be attached to a leash

---

verb

1. (tr) to put jesses on (a hawk or falcon)

Other Word Forms

• jessed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of jess

1300–50; Middle English ges < Old French ges, gez, getz (nominative) ( get oblique > French jet; cf. jet ¹) ≪ Latin jactus a throwing, equivalent to jac ( ere ) to throw + -tus suffix of v. action

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jess Jess

Epstein also passed on advice from someone referred to as "jess" that "supporting gb will be seen as bad form commercially, he has lost the confidence of the public".

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2026

You all know me I'm jess a small town salesman with a smatterin' of law.

From Time Magazine Archive

“With this varvel,” the Wart heard, “I thee endow... love, honour and obey... till jess us do part.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

But,” he said, leaning closer to her, “if I don’t jess and leash you, you’re not a captive bird. “Will you stay anyway?”

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

“No, you’ll fly if I do that. I’d better jess you first.”

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Jess Pryles, a live-fire cook and the author of “Prime Cuts,” offered her own lyrical description: “Wagyu gives a buttery richness and so easily melts over your tongue.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

“We have to pay what we owe, not a dollar more,” Jess Merten, Allstate’s head of property-liability, told a conference in March.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Jess Thirlby stepped down as head coach in March for family reasons, leaving assistant Anna Stembridge - head coach from 2011 to 2015 - in interim charge.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Charlie Paddock, 27, from south London, also said she "nearly fainted twice and the hot flushes were unreal", while Jess Allingham, 26, said she was "absolutely exhausted, more than normal", and had "total brain fog".

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Mom was behind the counter, and Jess and the twins were at a booth, munching on French fries and trying to focus on their homework.

From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis