puss

[poo s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR puss ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cat.

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

British. a hare.

Nearby words

Origin of puss

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

Related formspuss·like, adjective

Can be confusedpus puss

puss

[poo s]

noun Slang.

face: She smacked him in the puss.

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

Origin of puss

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for puss

In other words, in his second term, President Obama needs to kick Richard Nixon right square in the puss.
Obama Has Already Quietly Begun Revising the Government’s War on Drugs|James Higdon|July 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There also was no hesitation to get down and dirty again with Puss in Boots.
Antonio Banderas’s Homecomings|Maria Elena Fernandez|October 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
On others, he will be the voice of the delightful animated cat in Puss in Boots, whom everyone loves from the Shrek movies.
Antonio Banderas’s Homecomings|Maria Elena Fernandez|October 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

Cat and dancer were similar; Nihla, like the Persian puss, knew when she had had enough.
The Moonlit Way|Robert W. Chambers
I prefer to be inside this log rather than inside even so famous a character as Puss in Boots, Junior.
The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Jr.|David Cory
Puss was ably seconded by Jack Brinsmade, whose reputation as a tormentor extended far back into his boyhood.
The Crisis, Complete|Winston Churchill
"You have brought me luck," said little Jack Sprat, turning to Puss.
Puss Junior and Robinson Crusoe|David Cory
The larva of the puss moth employs in the construction of its shell the wood of the tree on which it has lived.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for puss

puss

noun

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

slang a girl or woman

an informal name for a hare

Word Origin for puss

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

noun slang

the face

Irish a gloomy or sullen expression

Word Origin for puss

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

Word Origin and History for puss

puss

n.1

"cat," 1520s, but probably much older than the record, perhaps imitative of the hissing sound commonly used to get a cat's attention. A conventional name for a cat in Germanic languages and as far off as Afghanistan; it is the root of the principal word for "cat" in Rumanian (pisica) and secondary words in Lithuanian (puz), Low German (puus), Swedish dialect katte-pus, etc. Applied to a girl or woman from c.1600, originally in a negative sense, implying unpleasant cat-like qualities; but by mid-19c. in affectionate use.

puss

n.2

"the face" (but sometimes, especially in pugilism slang, "the mouth"), 1890, slang, from Irish pus "lip, mouth."

puss

noun

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Origin of puss

puss

noun Slang.

Origin of puss

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puss

noun

Word Origin for puss

noun slang

Word Origin for puss

puss

puss