wis
verb (used with or without object)
to know.
wis
1 American
[wis]
/ wɪs /
verb (used with or without object)
Archaic.
Wis.
2
American
Or
Wisc
abbreviation
Wis.
1
British
abbreviation
wis
2
British
/ wɪs /
verb
Etymology
Origin of wis
1500–10; by false analysis of iwis as I wis I know; see wit 2
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:
“Tunes hiv been whirlin aroon in the air an in ma heid an hairt since I wis a bairn, an I wis composing tunes an songs even then,” she wrote in her book.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
“I remember a time when there wis so many boats that yi’ could walk across the harbor on their decks,” he told me forlornly.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2017
“I knew what was happening, but I did nothing. I just watched from the windae; my mind wis blank,” she told me.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2017
Seahawks-Packers controversial finish: On the last play of Monday Night Football, the Seattle Seahawks’ Golden Tate wis credited with hauling in a 24-yard, game-winning touchdown pass in a 14-12 win against the Packers.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 25, 2012
“Yah! You know vhat snakes! Za place iss crawling wis zem. Poison vuns!”
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Our destinations included family and friends in places as diverse as Salt Lake City, Oconomowoc, Wis., Chicago, Maryland, and the Eastern seaboard: Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
To fully exorcise himself of Gein after completing the show, Hunnam traveled to Plainfield, Wis., to visit his grave site and say a final goodbye.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Weger, who grew up in Madison, Wis., studied cinema during graduate school at NYU and later moved to Los Angeles to work in Hollywood as a producer and stylist, is no minimalist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
“The stories are timeless,” said Shirley Casper, 49, of Menomonie, Wis., who started reading the books to her now 20-year-old daughter Gracie when she was 3.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
THOMPSON, CLYDE, O., Madison, Wis.; student at University of Wisconsin; Thompson had taken his fiancée, Miss Leigh Haveland, to the theater; both perished.
From Chicago's Awful Theater Horror by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
