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.
Billiards, Pool. kiss.
Dismiss or reject, as in He kissed off their offer . This usage alludes to kissing something goodbye [ Slang ; c. 1900]
Be forced to give up or regard as lost, as in You can kiss off that promotion . [ Slang ; late 1940s]
Get out, go away, as in She told the reporters to kiss off . [ Slang ; early 1990s]
First recorded in 1930–35; noun use of verb phrase kiss off
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Weiss publicly resigned from her role as an opinion columnist and editor at the New York Times five years ago with a blistering kiss-off.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025
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
Cowbells, handclaps and piano chords drive “Better Things,” a K-pop kiss-off with ingeniously cascading vocal harmonies and absolutely no regrets.
From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2023
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
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.
