wis

[ wis ]

/ wɪs /

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verb (used with or without object) Archaic.

to know.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of wis

1500–10; by false analysis of iwis as I wis I know; see wit²

Words nearby wis

wirra, wirrah, Wirral, Wirtz, wiry, wis, Wisbech, Wisby, WISC, Wisconsin, Wisconsinite

Other definitions for wis (2 of 2)

Wis.

or Wisc

abbreviation

Wisconsin.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wis in a sentence

Those LGBTQ components will be integrated into the convention, which during the time of the coronavirus has been downsized to a largely virtual event, although operations will remain based in the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
Rising LGBTQ stars, historic platform on deck for Democratic convention|Chris Johnson|August 12, 2020|Washington Blade
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., did him one better, imagining Ebola-infected members of ISIS entering the United States as human WMDS.
The Fear About Things That Won't Kill Us Is Killing Us|Cliff Schecter|October 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Ron Johnson (R-WIS) are co-sponsors of the legislation.
Federal Execs to Get Millions Despite Cuts|CNBC|May 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She tells me about a show she once played at a college in Madison, Wis., where a few fratty football players got out of hand.
Rapper Kitty Pryde on ‘D.A.I.S.Y. Rage,’ Haters, Selling Out & More|Melissa Leon|January 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Or, say, Oak Creek, Wis., where a gunman shot and killed six at a Sikh temple in August.
The NRA Has a Head Start Against Newly Energized Gun-Control Advocates|David Freedlander|December 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
This past week, it was the shooting at the Azana Spa in Brookfield, Wis., that triggered those flashbacks.
Wisconsin Spa Shooting Brings Back Painful Memories for the Moms of Mass Killers|Winston Ross|October 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
No man parts wis zat which is valuable, to strangers, wisout a proper honorarium.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
It is the largest of all the Homes, though they have a small one at Milwaukee, Wis., and several others.
St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5, March, 1878|Various
Finally, they came to what are now Il-li-nois and Wis-consin, where many places still bear the French names then given them.
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies|H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber
But I wis it was not on this night that I did think of the renowned Romans, or make these sanctifying reflections.
A Legend of Reading Abbey|Charles MacFarlane
They had also worked for some time in the Dodgeville, Wis., lead mines.
A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States : From the Earliest Beginning down to the Year 1848|George Tobias Flom

British Dictionary definitions for wis (1 of 2)

wis

/ (wɪs) /

verb

archaic to know or suppose (something)

Word Origin for wis

C17: a form derived from iwis, mistakenly interpreted as I wis I know, as if from Old English witan to know

British Dictionary definitions for wis (2 of 2)

Wis.

abbreviation for

Wisconsin

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