shit
Americannoun
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shits
plural
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Ugh, I stepped in dog shit.
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an act of defecating; evacuation.
He's taking a shit.
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the shits. diarrhea.
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possessions, equipment, mementos, etc.; stuff.
I put my ex's shit in a box and left it on my front porch.
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pretense, lies, exaggeration, or nonsense: This guy is so full of shit!
I don’t want to hear your shit right now.
This guy is so full of shit!
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something inferior or worthless: Her boyfriend treats her like shit, but she won’t leave him.
I can’t stand that whiny emo shit that’s all over the radio.
Her boyfriend treats her like shit, but she won’t leave him.
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abusive treatment, unpleasant consequences, or general misfortune: My sister’s been going through some shit, so she needs our support more than ever.
I’m not going to take your shit anymore!
My sister’s been going through some shit, so she needs our support more than ever.
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a selfish, mean, or otherwise contemptible person.
You dumb little shit!
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narcotic drugs, especially heroin or marijuana.
My guy only sells the purest shit.
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anything at all; the least thing (usually used in the negative).
You don’t know shit about me.
verb (used without object)
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shits,
present (3rd person singular)
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shit,
past participle, past
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shat,
past participle, past
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shitted,
past participle, past
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shitting
present participle
verb (used with object)
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shits,
present (3rd person singular)
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shit,
past participle, past
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shat,
past participle, past
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shitted,
past participle, past
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shitting
present participle
interjection
verb phrase
idioms
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up shit / shit's creek (without a paddle), in a desperate or hopeless situation; in serious trouble.
I'm up shit's creek with this presentation—it's due tomorrow and I haven't written a single line.
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lose one’s shit, to become angry, panicked, or crazed: I am losing my shit here, and I don’t know what to do!
The coach lost his shit when the team fumbled the ball in the final seconds of the game.
I am losing my shit here, and I don’t know what to do!
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give a shit, (often used in the negative) to care; be concerned.
The fans could see that their star players didn't give a shit about bringing home a championship.
Who gives a shit if you're going or not going?
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shit oneself, Also shit one’s pants
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to defecate in one's clothes, as from terror or illness; soil oneself.
There’s a girl drunkenly puking and shitting herself in the alley—should we call 911?
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to be very frightened, especially of a current or future circumstance or consequence.
He’s basically shitting himself wondering if I’m gonna tell his wife what we did.
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and shit, (used to express an approximation or unspecified continuation) etcetera; and so on.
He always says he wants to help and shit, but he’s never around.
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shit happens, bad things are inevitable in life (used to dismiss or account for a disappointing turn of events).
I was gonna finish college, but sometimes shit happens.
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shit out of luck, in a hopeless situation, without any recourse or solution: SOL, S.O.L.
There's only one flight scheduled today, so we’re shit outta luck if we miss it.
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no shit,
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(used to express amazement or disbelief).
He got into MIT? No shit!
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(used to express one's annoyance with an obvious statement).
Yeah, no shit, numskull!
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like shit, very bad; very poorly: I had the flu, and I felt like absolute shit for about five days.
Aw, man, you look like shit!
I had the flu, and I felt like absolute shit for about five days.
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get / have one's shit together, to effectively organize, manage, or control aspects of one’s personal or professional life.
If she doesn’t get her shit together, she’s gonna lose her job.
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shoot the shit, to converse aimlessly; chat.
Let’s meet up after work to grab a couple of beers and shoot the shit.
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be the shit, to be amazing, be the best: Her apartment is the shit, but it must cost a fortune.
This guy is the shit—like, seriously, the greatest of all time!
Her apartment is the shit, but it must cost a fortune.
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tough shit, (used to dismiss someone’s misfortune or disappointment, without sympathy).
Tough shit if your boss is an abusive jerk—shut up and take it, or find a new job.
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in deep shit, in trouble.
If my parents catch me sneaking out, I'll be in deep shit.
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the shit out of, fully and completely; to an extreme degree: Bullies used to beat the shit out of him at recess and after school.
You scared the shit out of me!
Bullies used to beat the shit out of him at recess and after school.
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piece of shit, a person or thing that is inferior or contemptible (often used attributively): Your piece of shit car is leaking oil all over my driveway. POS, P.O.S.
I hope someone takes that pompous piece of shit down a few pegs.
Your piece of shit car is leaking oil all over my driveway.
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same shit, different day, (used to express exasperated discontent and resignation): SSDD
Welcome to the pointless hamster wheel that is my life—same shit, different day.
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shit hits the fan, trouble suddenly occurs; negative events come to a head: She’s someone you want on your side when shit hits the fan.
If the shit hits the fan, we’ll meet back up at the rendez-vous point.
She’s someone you want on your side when shit hits the fan.
verb
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to defecate
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slang (usually foll by on) to give the worst possible treatment (to)
noun
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faeces; excrement
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an act of defecation
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rubbish; nonsense
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an obnoxious or worthless person
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cannabis resin or heroin
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in trouble
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the real trouble begins
interjection
Usage
Even though shit has lost much of its shock value through frequent use, language experts continue to caution against indiscriminately using the word, and still label it as vulgar or coarse. The word has numerous meanings and occurs in many colorful phrases and compounds that have nothing to do with defecation: for example, no shit, shit happens, and shitfaced. In informal conversations among friends, the use of shit and its various expressions is often acceptable. For some people, the word comes naturally, without hesitation, as an expression of annoyance or chagrin, even if they still find it too vulgar to use in its literal sense. But in formal settings, use of the word generally remains inappropriate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shitsimple
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shitssimple
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have shatperfect
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have shitperfect
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have shittedperfect
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has shatperfect
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has shitperfect
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has shittedperfect
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am shittingprogressive
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are shittingprogressive
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is shittingprogressive
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have been shittingperfect progressive
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has been shittingperfect progressive
Past
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shatsimple
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shitsimple
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shittedsimple
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had shatperfect
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had shitperfect
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had shittedperfect
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was shittingprogressive
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were shittingprogressive
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had been shittingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shit
First recorded before 900; (verb) variant (with short i from past participle or noun) of earlier shite, Middle English shiten, Old English scītan; compare Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schiten ( Dutch schijten ), Old High German skīzan ( German scheissen ); (noun) re-formation from the verb, or continuation of Old English scite (in placenames)
Explanation
Shit is one of the most commonly used slang words that mean "poop" or "crap." Or it's used as an emphatic exclamation roughly meaning "oh no!" Despite its commonness, shit is still considered inappropriate. When you stub your toe or cut yourself, it's pretty hard not to say "Shit!" Still, you'd better try to avoid it in most settings, because shit is an obscenity that many people do not want to hear. It's probably a bad word because poop is generally considered pretty disgusting. So even though we all shit, and we all probably say shit, we need to be careful who we're saying it around.
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:
Like goods with environmental and political messages, cute mental health shit is acclimating us to a world where we are, on balance, perhaps a little more miserable than we need to be.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2023
"I'll obviously hustle to help on all fronts, but it's tough to own any of this when it's all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership."
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2023
Some were still wearing the same old shit.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2023
“Looking for Bigfoot means digging through a lot of shit, figurative and literal,” Squash once told Scientific American.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2023
“Doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived here. There’s always some scary shit you haven’t seen yet.”
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
You’d be surprised how much a giant space crab shits.
From The Verge ● Aug. 15, 2018
McCartney’s men’s line included preppy polo shits and V-neck sweaters matched with patterned overcoats and relaxed track pants or jeans.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 17, 2018
I regret writing the song simply because I started getting a lot of people coming to my shows who didn't give two shits about my music.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 24, 2013
“We have everything from his Social Security number, to his career in the military, to his clearances,” Sabu told the others, “to how many shits a day he takes.”
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2012
Whatever you want to call it—he’s got the shits something terrible.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Washington will play in the Wooden Legacy, a four-team preseason tournament on Nov. 24 and 25 in Anaheim, Calif. shat includes Saint Mary’s, Vanderbilt and Fresno State.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2022
I loved him more than I ever thought I could love a person who shat into my hand while screaming at me.
From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2018
My question to him was, “How do you know that these were pieces of human faeces and not humans that were eaten by American lions and then shat out in the caves?”
From National Geographic ● Jun. 9, 2018
“We’ll have more in common, a lifetime of memories. Remember when the baby threw up, remember when the dog ate the shoe, remember when the cat shat in your closet?”
From The Guardian ● Feb. 14, 2016
The bird hopped back to Mormont's shoulder, where it promptly shat "You might have done that on Snow instead of saving it for me," the Old Bear grumbled- The raven quarked.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
"I went in and said 'guys, I've just seen Brazil holding hands. They're shitting themselves!'"
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2021
“It’s barbaric not to give people that medication, because you’re basically vomiting and shitting yourself for six days,” he said.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 23, 2019
“Eh, why bother? It’s not like she’ll be shitting in her pants at high-school graduation.”
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2018
Though it’s winter, he’s wearing a light blue tee-shirt of a unicorn shitting a rainbow and is slightly sweaty.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2017
Regardless, the fever comes, and with it terrible diarrhea, and as Werner crouches in the mud behind the Opel, he feels as if he is shitting out the last of his civilization.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
