kiss-off
Americannoun
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Slang. an act or instance of dismissing a person or thing.
The company is about to give you the kiss-off, so you'd better start looking for another job.
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Billiards, Pool. kiss.
verb
noun
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Dismiss or reject, as in He kissed off their offer . This usage alludes to kissing something goodbye [ Slang ; c. 1900]
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Be forced to give up or regard as lost, as in You can kiss off that promotion . [ Slang ; late 1940s]
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Get out, go away, as in She told the reporters to kiss off . [ Slang ; early 1990s]
Etymology
Origin of kiss-off
First recorded in 1930–35; noun use of verb phrase kiss off
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.
Her 1957 recording of the 1923 kiss-off tune rocketed her to stardom at 19.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Florence Pugh declared herself a fan, and ended up starring in the video for Never Need Me, a killer kiss-off to a boyfriend who left her dangling.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2025
When she performed her scorching kiss-off number, “¿Qué Creías?” she’d invite an ogling male fan onstage, just to verbally dress him down with her verses.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2025
About a dozen songs earlier, Swift bid a permanent farewell to an unredeemable lover with a reveling “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — one of her first great kiss-off jams.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 24, 2023
Logan sees no point to this, so he abruptly ends his family reconciliation time with a gentle but devastating kiss-off: “I love you, but you are not serious people.”
From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2023
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.