ouch
1 Americaninterjection
noun
-
a clasp, buckle, or brooch, especially one worn for ornament.
-
the setting of a precious stone.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a brooch or clasp set with gems
-
the setting of a gem
interjection
Etymology
Origin of ouch1
1830–40, < German autsch
Origin of ouch2
1325–75; Middle English ouche (noun), for nouche (the phrase a nouche taken as an ouche; cf. apron) < Old French nosche ≪ Germanic
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.
As interviewer Iain Dale responded "ouch", Polanski said: "I really like Adrian, so that does hurt."
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2025
"We are supposed to die without even saying ouch, without expressing pain," Abudaqa said at a news conference on Tuesday.
From Reuters ● Nov. 9, 2023
“Ouch, ouch, ouch. It hurts,” McLaughlin said, according to Bennett.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2023
“If one of them has been thinking something, the others intuitively know it. I tease them: ‘If I stick one of you with a pin, all three of you would say ouch.’
From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2022
On the way I stub my toe on a sawhorse, but manage to swallow the ouch.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
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.
