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Added 9 October 2026

cuss

/kʌs/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cuss at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To use cursing, to use bad language, to speak profanely.

noun

A curse.
A curse word.
Fellow, person.
He's an abrupt-sounding cuss, but good-hearted too.

noun

A fellow, person.

Origin

An American English variant of curse; for a similar phonetic development, compare ass (“buttocks”), from arse, in which the r was originally pronounced (as in curse). Etymology 1, noun sense 3 (“fellow, person”) is from the replacement of a derogatory or affectionate curse word like bitch in son of a bitch with the word cuss, after etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“curse word”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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