pissant

American

[pis-ant] / ˈpɪsˌænt /

Or piss-ant

noun

Slang: Vulgar. a person or thing of no value or consequence; a despicable person or thing.
Obsolete. an ant.

adjective

Slang: Vulgar. insignificant or worthless.

pissant British

/ ˈpɪsænt /

noun

an insignificant or contemptible person

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

insignificant or contemptible

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pissant

1655–65, in sense “ant”; piss + ant, probably originally on the model of pismire

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023