puss

1
[ poos ]
See synonyms for puss on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a cat.

  2. Informal. a girl or woman: often used as a form of affectionate address.

  1. British. a hare.

Origin of puss

1
1520–30; akin to Dutch poes,Low German puus-katte,dialectal Swedish kattepus,Norwegian puse(kat)

Other words from puss

  • pusslike, adjective

Words that may be confused with puss

Words Nearby puss

Other definitions for puss (2 of 2)

puss2
[ poos ]

nounSlang.
  1. face: She smacked him in the puss.

  2. mouth: Shut your puss before I shut it for you.

Origin of puss

2
First recorded in 1880–85, puss is from the Irish word pus lip, mouth

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use puss in a sentence

  • The Spanish star plays a sociopath in his cinematic reunion with Pedro Almodóvar—and a Casanova feline in puss in Boots.

    Antonio Banderas’s Homecomings | Maria Elena Fernandez | October 11, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Without warning, he reenacts a love scene from the beginning of the movie, using puss's Castilian Spanish accent, and cracks up.

    Antonio Banderas’s Homecomings | Maria Elena Fernandez | October 11, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • And now naughty puss had run off, and she would come back, perhaps, with the new ribbon all rumpled and soiled.

  • Then more seriously, he added: I am afraid we shall have to wait until your birthday really comes round, puss.

    Those Dale Girls | Frank Weston Carruth
  • And pulling out her puss, she showed a sovrin, a good heap of silver, and an odd-looking little coin.

    Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush | William Makepeace Thackeray
  • A young and active puss instantly seized it and ran away with her prize, with all the other cats after her.

  • Whether ‘puss’ understood this speech or not, she had certainly settled the question in her own way, and very quickly.

British Dictionary definitions for puss (1 of 2)

puss1

/ (pʊs) /


noun
  1. an informal name for a cat 1 (def. 1) See also pussy 1 (def. 1)

  2. slang a girl or woman

  1. an informal name for a hare

Origin of puss

1
C16: related to Middle Low German pūs, Dutch poes, Lithuanian puz

British Dictionary definitions for puss (2 of 2)

puss2

/ (pʊs) /


nounslang
  1. the face

  2. Irish a gloomy or sullen expression

Origin of puss

2
C17: from Irish pus

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