puss

C1 Topic:Communication

US /pʊs/ UK /pʊs/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like push /s/ vs /ʃ/

Freq #10070

Meanings

1

noun
an informal or affectionate term for a cat

The old puss stretched beside the fire and began to purr.
2

noun
a person's face or mouth; informal, especially in North American English

The snowball struck him squarely in the puss.
3

noun
an affectionate or mildly patronizing term for a girl or young woman; dated

Come along, puss, her aunt said as she held out a hand.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an informal or affectionate... cat kitty moggy

2 noun · a person's face or mouth;... face mug

3 noun · an affectionate or mildly... girlyoung woman

Word family

Forms puss’s

Derived forms glamourpusspusslikesourpuss

Related forms pussycatkitty

Etymology

The cat term is probably related to Middle Low German pūse and Dutch poes and may imitate a traditional call to a cat; similar forms occur in many languages. Its use for a girl developed from the cat term. The separate North American slang sense "face or mouth" comes from Irish pus, "lip, mouth."

Topics

Communication Register & Style

External links

# puss

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /pʊs/
**IPA (UK):** /pʊs/
**Frequency rank:** 10070

## Meanings
1. an informal or affectionate term for a cat
2. a person's face or mouth; informal, especially in North American English
3. an affectionate or mildly patronizing term for a girl or young woman; dated

## Examples
- The old puss stretched beside the fire and began to purr.
- The snowball struck him squarely in the puss.
- Come along, puss, her aunt said as she held out a hand.

## Synonyms
- cat
- kitty
- moggy
- face
- mug

## Derived Forms
- glamourpuss
- pusslike
- sourpuss

## Related Forms
- pussycat
- kitty

## Etymology
The cat term is probably related to Middle Low German pūse and Dutch poes and may imitate a traditional call to a cat; similar forms occur in many languages. Its use for a girl developed from the cat term. The separate North American slang sense "face or mouth" comes from Irish pus, "lip, mouth."

## Topics
- Communication
- Register & Style

markdown