hiss.
A sibilant sound, such as that made by a snake or escaping steam; an unvoiced fricative.
Meaning & usage
A sibilant sound, such as that made by a snake or escaping steam; an unvoiced fricative.
An expression of disapproval made using such a sound.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English hissen, probably of onomatopoeic origin (compare Arabic هَسْهَسَ (hashasa)). Compare Middle Dutch hissen, hisschen (“to chase away, shoo”), Middle Low German hissen (“to chase, hound, incite”).
To make a hiss, a sibilant sound of air escaping.
As I started to poke it, the snake hissed at me.
The poor cat hissed as it backed away from the approaching man.
To call someone by hissing.
To condemn or express contempt (for someone or something) by hissing.
The crowd booed and hissed her off the stage.
To utter (something) with a hissing sound.
To move with a hissing sound.
The arrow hissed through the air.
To emit or eject (something) with a hissing sound.
To whisper, especially angrily or urgently.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English hissen, probably of onomatopoeic origin (compare Arabic هَسْهَسَ (hashasa)). Compare Middle Dutch hissen, hisschen (“to chase away, shoo”), Middle Low German hissen (“to chase, hound, incite”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.