shit

[ shit ]

/ ʃɪt /

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noun Slang: Vulgar.

excrement; feces: Ugh, I stepped in dog shit.

an act of defecating; evacuation: He's taking a shit.

the shits. diarrhea.

possessions, equipment, mementos, etc.; stuff: I put my ex's shit in a box and left it on my front porch.

pretense, lies, exaggeration, or nonsense: I don’t want to hear your shit right now.This guy is so full of shit!

something inferior or worthless: 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.

abusive treatment, unpleasant consequences, or general misfortune: 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.

a selfish, mean, or otherwise contemptible person: You dumb little shit!

narcotic drugs, especially heroin or marijuana: My guy only sells the purest shit.

anything at all; the least thing (usually used in the negative): You don’t know shit about me.

verb (used without object), shit or shat

[shat], /ʃæt/, shit·ting.Slang: Vulgar.

to defecate.

verb (used with object), shit or shat, shit·ting.Slang: Vulgar.

to exaggerate or lie to: Are you shitting me? I shit you not!

interjection Slang: Vulgar.

(used to express disgust, disappointment, frustration, contempt, or the like): Oh, shit, we’re screwed.

Verb Phrases

shit on, Slang: Vulgar. to disparage or dismiss: Try contributing something, instead of just shitting on everyone else’s ideas.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about shit

Slang: Vulgar.

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.

be the shit, to be amazing, be the best: This guy is the shit—like, seriously, the greatest of all time!Her apartment is the shit, but it must cost a fortune.

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.

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?

in deep shit, in trouble: If my parents catch me sneaking out, I'll be in deep shit.

like shit, very bad; very poorly: Aw, man, you look like shit!I had the flu, and I felt like absolute shit for about five days.

lose one’s shit, to become angry, panicked, or crazed: 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!

no shit,

(used to express amazement or disbelief): He got into MIT? No shit!
(used to express one's annoyance with an obvious statement): Yeah, no shit, numskull!

piece of shit, a person or thing that is inferior or contemptible (often used attributively): 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.Abbreviations: POS, P.O.S.

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.

same shit, different day, (used to express exasperated discontent and resignation): Welcome to the pointless hamster wheel that is my life—same shit, different day.Abbreviation: SSDD

shit hits the fan, trouble suddenly occurs; negative events come to a head: 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.

shit oneself,

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?
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.

Also shit one’s pants .

shit out of luck, in a hopeless situation, without any recourse or solution: There's only one flight scheduled today, so we’re shit outta luck if we miss it.Abbreviations: SOL, S.O.L.

shoot the shit, to converse aimlessly; chat: Let’s meet up after work to grab a couple of beers and shoot the shit.

the shit out of, fully and completely; to an extreme degree: You scared the shit out of me!Bullies used to beat the shit out of him at recess and after school.

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.

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.

Also especially British, shite

[shahyt] /ʃaɪt/ .

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)

usage note for shit

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.

Words nearby shit

shirty, shisha, shish kebab, shishya, shiso, shit, shitake, shitcan, shit disturber, shit-eating grin, shitfaced

How to use shit in a sentence

You come look at Chollas Creek after a heavy rain, you may see all kinds of toxic shit, tires, who knows what, just floating through.
San Diego’s Infrastructure Deficit Is Really a Stormwater Deficit|Andrew Keatts|February 8, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Gravity is real, and no matter how many times you shout stonks in the mirror, crying, while clutching your smartphone, it’s hard to keep a bag of shit in the air forever.
In 2021 everyone gets 15 minutes of wealth|Alex Wilhelm|February 2, 2021|TechCrunch
“That’s some real gangster shit right there,” enthused Jake.
The Boogaloo Bois Have Guns, Criminal Records and Military Training. Now They Want to Overthrow the Government.|by A.C. Thompson, ProPublica, and Lila Hassan and Karim Hajj, FRONTLINE|February 1, 2021|ProPublica
“These dudes came in on a bunch of brute, brute shit … like they were looking for trouble,” said Dennis Prewitt, the man taken down by Habib and the officers with him.
Still Can’t Breathe|by Topher Sanders, ProPublica, and Yoav Gonen, THE CITY, video by Lucas Waldron, ProPublica|January 21, 2021|ProPublica

You mentioned you still talk to some of your former colleagues who are in Congress and that some of them really believe this shit.
The GOP’s existential crisis, explained by a former Republican Congress member|Sean Illing|January 15, 2021|Vox
Funny or Die News also features Vox-style “explainers,” including “The Middle East—Why Shit So Fucked Up?”
How Funny or Die Plans to Cover ISIS, Ebola and Elections|Asawin Suebsaeng|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was like, ‘Shit, try being in a two-piece where the other person doesn’t talk!
Jack White Apologizes For Trashing Meg White, Adele, The Black Keys, Lana Del Rey, Etc.|Marlow Stern|May 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her most popular video, the aforementioned “Shit White Girls Say… to Black Girls,” was viewed 10.4 million times.
YouTube, Netflix, and the Death of Television|Rich Goldstein|November 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He went on to found the gang FSU, which stands for Friends Stand United (it originally stood for Fuck Shit Up).
Homeless to Hollywood: First-Time Director Elgin James Talks ‘Little Birds'|Kevin Fallon|September 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In the morning, Ramesh came back, was told by a constable about Xerox, and said, "Shit, it wasn't a dream, then."
An Excerpt from Between the Assassinations|Aravind Adiga|June 10, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Shit, why not send me a letter asking me if I mind receiving an email?
Makers|Cory Doctorow
“Shit,” he said, and began to sort through the alerts while his back and neck muscles tightened.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
Then, five minutes later, “Shit, I forgot that this one has a different mo-bo than the others.”
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town|Cory Doctorow
He took the title of Shit-su and founded what is known as the Yuen dynasty.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for shit

shit

/ (ʃɪt) taboo /

verb shits, shitting, shitted, shit or shat

to defecate

(usually foll by on) slang to give the worst possible treatment (to)

noun

faeces; excrement

an act of defecation

rubbish; nonsense

an obnoxious or worthless person

cannabis resin or heroin

in the shit in trouble

the shit hits the fan the real trouble begins

interjection

an exclamation expressing anger, disgust, etc

Also (esp dialect): shite (ʃaɪt)

Derived forms of shit

shitty, adjectiveshittily, adverbshittiness, noun

Word Origin for shit

Old English scite (unattested) dung, scītan to defecate, of Germanic origin; related to Old English scēadan to separate, Old Norse skīta to defecate, Middle Dutch schitte excrement

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

shit

Idioms about shit

Origin of shit

usage note for shit

Words nearby shit

Words related to shit

How to use shit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shit

Derived forms of shit

Word Origin for shit