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
He has to repeatedly shush the crowd during his remarks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, was seen at times trying to shush his outspoken member, to little avail.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 9, 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
If necessary I could shush my sisters with a glare to bottle up their loose giggling.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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
So I lean over and say, in a very quiet whisper, “That bowing … ” Before the third word is out, the woman in front of me whips her head around, glares, and shushes me.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2018
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
Chian shushes me with a wave of his hand.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
Why would she be abruptly shushed whenever she asked after its fate?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
"When Gus showed huge displays of emotion and overwhelm of pride for his father, he wasn't shushed or told to be smaller," she said.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2024
Arriaga shushed them as she rifled through a stack of crumpled birth certificates and other identity documents in search of information the app required.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024
He was annoyed by persistent whistling by the crowd and rushed to the side of the stage and shushed them after sealing victory.
From BBC ● May 2, 2024
He found himself shushed and needled out of the room, lest he wake the baby, or frighten the baby, or bore the baby to death with poetry.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
“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
“Halle Bailey’s colorblind casting drew its fair share of critics, but she boasts a lovely voice and pleasant screen presence, shushing the doubters.”
From Washington Times ● May 25, 2023
Elnora made shushing noises and reached out as if to soothe me.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
