shush
Americaninterjection
verb (used with object)
-
shushes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shushed,
past participle, past
-
shushing
present participle
interjection
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shushsimple
-
shushessimple
-
have shushedperfect
-
has shushedperfect
-
am shushingprogressive
-
are shushingprogressive
-
is shushingprogressive
-
have been shushingperfect progressive
-
has been shushingperfect progressive
Past
-
shushedsimple
-
had shushedperfect
-
was shushingprogressive
-
were shushingprogressive
-
had been shushingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shush
First recorded in 1920–25; imitative
Explanation
To shush is to urge someone else to be quiet. If you burst out laughing in the library, the librarian will almost certainly come over and shush you. A babysitter will shush a rowdy kid whose younger sibling is taking a nap, a teacher will shush a chattering class when they're supposed to be focused on their work, and a train conductor might shush you if you're talking on your mobile phone in the quiet car. This imitative word sounds just like the sound you make when you implore another person to quiet down. You can even use it as a command: "Shush! I can't hear the TV!"
Vocabulary lists containing shush
myPerspectives 6.1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Compound Fracture
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
His friends groaned and tried to shush him; he waved them off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2026
US President Joe Biden told a climate heckler to "shush up" after they interrupted a speech he was giving in Arizona.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2023
When Newkirk continued, Mr. Biden responded: “I’ll tell you what, if you shush up, I’ll meet with you immediately after this, OK?”
From Washington Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
It was a departure from Miller’s move, which was simply to shush the Irish fans.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022
She’ll shush me and Garrett all day, but my parents never shush each other.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Mike gathers himself, shushes the woman for waking him and then collects his belongings to begin a day of panhandling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
Go into hysterics if someone shushes them in a theater?
From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2023
The man could not hit a fairway, make a putt or do anything worthy of one of his patented crowd shushes.
From Golf Digest ● Sep. 29, 2018
Vanessa, a New York-raised teacher in her early 40s with family back in Haiti, waits through a few protracted rounds of talk before the room shushes again.
From The Guardian ● May 18, 2018
“That makes no sense—” Mustafa starts to argue before Mama shushes him.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
Villa analyst Victor Manas urged Tindall to "show some respect" and "lose the finger" after the Newcastle number two repeatedly shushed a visibly irate Unai Emery at St James' Park.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
Why would she be abruptly shushed whenever she asked after its fate?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
When a few overzealous fans couldn’t contain their excitement, and yelled “C’mon, 'Foe!” just as the American was readying to lob the ball upward in a serve, hundreds of other fans collectively shushed them.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2024
When Cubarrubia, 44, handed Navarro a glowing microphone, Navarro put his arms down and shushed the room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2023
Ivan shushed her and pulled her to him awkwardly, hugging her one-armed.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
“I always felt like I was in a library,” Emma says, with some guests shushing others or throwing a side-eye.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
“They’re doing more than just stamping books or shushing everybody,” Kearney said.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
Following Tarkowski's late equaliser with a superb finish, Doucoure went over towards the away fans and was caught on television cameras making a shushing gesture.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2025
When Black women attempt to celebrate their achievements and survival when others won’t or to speak their truth about experiences with racism, prejudice, violence and misogynoir, there’s a virtual shushing that tends to happen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
I hear people moving and shifting, and some babies babbling and their mothers shushing them.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
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.
