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:
At one point, it appeared he told someone in the room to "shush" their mouth.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2025
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
He has to repeatedly shush the crowd during his remarks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
McCarthy, sitting directly behind Biden and in view of the cameras, several times appeared to shush his colleagues.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2023
Silence reigned in the Pavilion of Thought, broken only by the wheels of ladders and the shush of pages turning.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
A staffer shushes the Times journalists talking in the hallway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
Gadsby tells us she's succeeded doing "trauma in the context of comedy;" she shushes us not to take the "bait" and hoot when she says something provocative.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2020
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
After an off-screen monster lets out some characteristic creaks, Lee and Marcus look off into the distance terrified, and dad shushes his kids.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 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
As a jubilant Bernard trotted back to the visitor’s sideline, he shushed his former fans.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2023
I shushed them and reminded them we weren’t at home.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
“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
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
He told one co-worker the trip was for a family emergency and used "shushing" emojis, the court documents allege.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2023
I hear the twins and Marisol shushing each other.
From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
