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/hɪs/ Listen

noun

Hiss n.

A prolonged sound like that letter s, made by forcing out the breath between the tongue and teeth, esp. as a token of disapprobation or contempt. ""Hiss" implies audible friction of breath consonants." "A dismal, universal hiss, the sound Of public scorn."

Any sound resembling that above described; as:

(a)

The noise made by a serpent. "But hiss for hiss returned with forked tongue."

(b)

The note of a goose when irritated.

(c)

The noise made by steam escaping through a narrow orifice, or by water falling on a hot stove.

verb

Hiss v. t.

To condemn or express contempt for by hissing. "If the tag-rag people did not clap him and hiss him, according as he pleased and displeased them." "Malcolm. What is the newest grief? Ros. That of an hour's age doth hiss the speaker."

To utter with a hissing sound. "The long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise."

Hiss v. i. (past & past part. hissed; pres. part. hissing)

To make with the mouth a prolonged sound like that of the letter s, by driving the breath between the tongue and the teeth; to make with the mouth a sound like that made by a goose or a snake when angered; esp., to make such a sound as an expression of hatred, passion, or disapproval. "The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee."

To make a similar noise by any means; to pass with a sibilant sound; as, the arrow hissed as it flew. "Shod with steel, We hissed along the polished ice."

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Etymology of 'Hiss'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Hiss" Quotes from Famous Books

... rang again and again with the shouts of his excited hearers. But nemo repente turpissimus semper fuit. These were not the sentiments of all. There was a large class present who did not applaud—but neither did they hiss. They seemed for the time overawed by the energy of the spirit which had suddenly ...

— The Continental Monthly, Vol 3 No 3, March 1863 - Devoted To Literature And National Policy • Various

... "You are courageous indeed, Hiss Elfrida. That is done by a woman who is invited, every where in her proper person, and knows 'tout Paris' like her alphabet I believe she holds stock in Raffini; anyway, they would double her pay rather than lose her. You would have more ...

— A Daughter of To-Day • Sara Jeannette Duncan (aka Mrs. Everard Cotes)

... of the ship were now leaping fifty feet into the air. The river manuals played upon it, but made little or no impression. It seemed to hiss back contempt and defiance ...

— The Hero of Garside School • J. Harwood Panting

... or eight hundred; and another, who may be looked upon as commander in chief, takes up his station close to the wall which they are repairing, and frequently repeats the beating which I just mentioned, which is instantly answered by a loud hiss from all the labourers within the dome,—those at work labouring with ...

— Stories about the Instinct of Animals, Their Characters, and Habits • Thomas Bingley

... 'em: but For every trifle are they set upon me; Sometime like apes, that mow and chatter at me, And after bite me; then like hedgehogs, which 10 Lie tumbling in my barefoot way, and mount Their pricks at my footfall; sometime am I All wound with adders, who with cloven tongues Do hiss ...

— The Tempest - The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [9 vols.] • William Shakespeare

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