pussy
1 Americannoun
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pussies
plural
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Informal. a cat, especially a kitten.
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Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a timid, passive person, especially a man.
noun
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pussies
plural
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the vulva.
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sexual intercourse with a woman.
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Disparaging and Offensive. women collectively, regarded as sex objects.
adjective
noun
adjective
Usage
What else does pussy mean? Content warning: the following content includes references to offensive, sexual, and sexist language. Pussy is a pet name for a domestic cat, vulgar slang for the vagina, and a term of abuse for a coward.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pussy1
First recorded in 1560–70; puss 1 + -y 2
Origin of pussy2
First recorded in 1690–1700; perhaps from Dutch poesje, a diminutive of poes “cat; vulva,” akin to Low German pūse “vulva,” Old English pusa “bag”; perhaps directly from pussy 1 ( def. ); see also purse
Origin of pussy3
Explanation
Pussy can be an affectionate term for a kitty-cat, a dirty word for a woman’s private parts, or an adjective that describes something that contains pus — that oozing yellow stuff that comes out of a cut. You might have heard your elderly neighbor refer to her cat as a "pussycat." And in her most tender moments, you might have heard her in the yard, saying, “Here, pussy-pussy.” That’s because pussy is another word for cat. It’s also a word for a woman’s genitals. Generally, it’s considered offensive when it refers to a woman’s body. It’s probably not a word you should say to your math teacher or your mother. Unless you’re talking about the neighbor’s cat.
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.
See Examples For:
“As women have found their voice politically, they have begun to express themselves sartorially,” Friedman wrote in 2017, “be it through white pantsuits, so-called pussy hats or the modest fashion movement.”
From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2024
Since the anniversary fell on Palm Sunday, they also carried pussy willows and other tree branches, which is a Roman Catholic tradition on the Sunday before Easter.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 2, 2023
It would have been out of character for Fred to buy a commercial card as opposed to, say, presenting her with a bouquet of pussy willows he had picked.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
Claims she was deliberately trying to channel Thatcher grew even louder when she posed for a photograph in a white pussy bow collar of the kind favoured by the Iron Lady.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2022
There were rows of pictures still pinned to the walls, birds and pussy willows and tulips that the children had colored in the spring.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
"Well, if they're pussies now they'll grow to be cats soon enough, you mark my words," went on Aunt Lettie quite sorrowfully.
From Lulu, Alice and Jimmie Wibblewobble by Howard Roger Garis
It is no longer the elderly lady who presides at the tea-kettle; the tabbies do not make or drink the teas; the younger pussies are the queens of four-o'clock tea.
From Manners and Social Usages by Mrs. John M. E. W. Sherwood
At nearly all the shows—at all events at all the great shows—Mr Sillet, the well-known naturalist of Southampton, has the arrangement of the pens or cages for the pussies.
From The Domestic Cat by Gordon Stables
Five little pussies Sitting down to tea; Pretty little pussies, Happy as can be!
From Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad by Daphne Dale
On no account let the pussies lie on the bare wood or zinc, but provide each with a cushion of some sort, and have a small box filled with earth or sand, in each pen.
From The Domestic Cat by Gordon Stables
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
