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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

shit.

Usually solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels; feces.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ʃɪt/
  1. Usually solid excretory product evacuated from the bowels; feces.

    colloquial · countable · literally · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    The field is covered in shit.
    He left a shit in the toilet.
  2. The act of shitting.

    colloquial · countable · informal · literally · usually · vulgar
    I need to take a shit.
  3. Rubbish; worthless matter.

    colloquial · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    Throw that shit out!
    Get rid of that shit!
  4. Stuff, things.

    colloquial · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    I want your shit out of my garage by tomorrow.
    Fuck it. I don't feel like doing this shit.
  5. (the shit) The best of its kind.

    US · colloquial · definite · slang · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    These grapes are the shit!
  6. Genitalia, especially male.

    slang · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    jerk one's shit
  7. Nonsense; bullshit.

    colloquial · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    Everything he says is a load of shit.
    Enough of this shit!
  8. A nasty, despicable person, used particularly of men.

    colloquial · countable · usually · vulgar
    Her son has been a real shit to her.
    I am a shit and a rotter.
  9. Anything.

    colloquial · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    We don’t have shit to live on.
    John can't sing for shit.
  10. The smallest amount of concern or consideration.

    colloquial · countable · usually · vulgar
    I don't give a shit.
  11. A problem or difficult situation.

    colloquial · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    I'm in some serious shit.
    Some shit went down at the nightclub last night.
  12. A strong rebuke.

    colloquial · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    I gave him shit for being three hours late twice in one week.
  13. Any recreational drug (e.g. cannabis, heroin, etc.).

    colloquial · uncountable · usually · vulgar
  14. Anything exceptional or remarkable.

    slang · uncountable · usually · vulgar
    I heard Bobby escaped from the police by jumping off a bridge into the river. Ain't that some shit?
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *skitiz Proto-West Germanic *skiti Proto-West Germanic *-jā Proto-West Germanic *skittjā Old English sċitte Old English *sċite Middle English schite English shit From Middle English schit, schyt, from Old English *sċite (“dung”) and sċitte (“diarrhoea”), from Proto-West Germanic *skiti and *skittjā, from Proto-Germanic *skitiz, from Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- (“to split, divide, separate”). Related to Saterland Frisian Skiete, West Frisian skyte, skyt, Dutch schijt, German Low German Schiet, German Scheiße, Danish skidt, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk skit, Norwegian Bokmål skitt, Icelandic skítur. Compare shite. Doublet of scheisse.

adj/ʃɪt/
  1. Of poor quality; worthless.

    colloquial · vulgar
    What a shit film that was!
  2. Nasty; despicable.

    colloquial · vulgar
    That was a shit thing to do to him.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *skitiz Proto-West Germanic *skiti Proto-West Germanic *-jā Proto-West Germanic *skittjā Old English sċitte Old English *sċite Middle English schite English shit From Middle English schit, schyt, from Old English *sċite (“dung”) and sċitte (“diarrhoea”), from Proto-West Germanic *skiti and *skittjā, from Proto-Germanic *skitiz, from Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- (“to split, divide, separate”). Related to Saterland Frisian Skiete, West Frisian skyte, skyt, Dutch schijt, German Low German Schiet, German Scheiße, Danish skidt, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk skit, Norwegian Bokmål skitt, Icelandic skítur. Compare shite. Doublet of scheisse.

verb/ʃɪt/
  1. To defecate.

    colloquial · intransitive · literally · vulgar
  2. To excrete (something) through the anus.

    colloquial · literally · transitive · vulgar
  3. To defecate on; to soil through defecating.

    colloquial · literally · reflexive · transitive · vulgar
    I laughed so hard I shat myself.
  4. To fart (especially a wet fart) or shart.

    ambitransitive · colloquial · slang · vulgar
  5. To fool or try to fool someone; to be deceitful.

    colloquial · transitive · vulgar
    Twelve hundred dollars!? Are you shitting me!?
  6. To annoy.

    Australia · Ireland · New-Zealand · UK · colloquial · transitive · vulgar
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sek-? Proto-Indo-European *-éyti Proto-Indo-European *skey- Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- Proto-Indo-European *skéydt Proto-Germanic *skītaną Proto-West Germanic *skītan Old English sċītan Middle English schiten English shit From Middle English schiten, shiten, from Old English sċītan, from Proto-West Germanic *skītan, from Proto-Germanic *skītaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skéydt, from *skeyd-, *skeh₁i-d (“to cut”) (compare *skey-). Cognate with West Frisian skite, Low German schieten, Dutch schijten, German scheißen, Danish skide. More at shed.

intj/ʃɪt/
  1. Expression of worry, failure, shock, etc., often at something seen for the first time or remembered immediately before using this term.

    colloquial · mildly · slang · vulgar
    Shit! I think that I forgot to pack my sleeping bag last night!
    Holy shit!
  2. Used to show displeasure or surprise.

    colloquial · vulgar
    "Oh, shit. I left my worksheet at home," she said to the language arts teacher, which got her in trouble.
  3. Used for mere emphasis; heck, hey.

    colloquial · vulgar
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sek-? Proto-Indo-European *-éyti Proto-Indo-European *skey- Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- Proto-Indo-European *skéydt Proto-Germanic *skītaną Proto-West Germanic *skītan Old English sċītan Middle English schiten English shit From Middle English schiten, shiten, from Old English sċītan, from Proto-West Germanic *skītan, from Proto-Germanic *skītaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skéydt, from *skeyd-, *skeh₁i-d (“to cut”) (compare *skey-). Cognate with West Frisian skite, Low German schieten, Dutch schijten, German scheißen, Danish skide. More at shed.

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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.