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ass

UK /ɑːs/noun, adjective, particle

ass is spelled A-S-S: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 100 times per million words in written English, the 1,076th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “as vs ass” about 40 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, ass means “Any of several species of horse-like animals, especially Equus asinus, the domesticated of which are used as beasts of burden” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ass is asses.

How many letters and syllables are in ass?

Letters3: A-S-S
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing100 times per million words; the 1,076th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is ass?

Ass appears 100 times per million words in written English, the 1,076th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce ass?

  • /æs/
  • UK /ɑːs/

Ass has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-ass.wav, En-us-ass.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with ass

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

as vs ass40 G

Also written: asse.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with ass?

4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ass from its last stressed vowel (/ɑs/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of ass

  • asses plural
  • @$$
  • more -ass comparative
  • most -ass superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does ass mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Any of several species of horse-like animals, especially Equus asinus, the domesticated of which are used as beasts of burden.

  2. 2

    vulgarA stupid or inconsiderate person.

    Near-synonyms: fool, idiot, jerk, asswipe; see also Thesaurus:jerk

  3. 3

    obsoleteslangA compositor.

  4. 4

    USslangvulgarThe buttocks.

  5. 5

    USslangvulgarThe anus.

    That does it! Now listen! Why is it that everything today has involved things either going in or coming out of my ass? I’m sick of it! It’s completely immature!

  6. 6

    USslangvulgarSex; a person to have sex with; with vulgar emphasis on their corporeality (their body) over their personhood.

    I'm going to go down to the bar and try to get me some ass.

  7. 7

    USslangvulgarUsed in similes to express something bad or unpleasant.

    I feel like ass today.

  8. 8

    USslangvulgarA person; the self; (reflexively) oneself or one's person, chiefly their body.

    Get your lazy ass out of bed!

  9. 9

    USslangvulgarOne's personal safety, or figuratively one's job, prospects, etc.

    Mess up one more time and it's your ass on the line.

adjective

  1. 1

    CanadaUSslangvulgarOf low quality; bad.

particle

  1. 1

    USslangvulgarSynonym of -ass (used to intensify an adjective).

    That was one big ass fish!

noun

as ASS
  1. 1

    Initialism of argininosuccinate synthase.

  2. 2

    Initialism of antisynthetase syndrome.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Ass in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchâne (animal – see also donkey), idiot, imbécile, tête de nœud, moule à merde (stupid person), cul (buttocks)
GermanEsel, Eselin (animal – see also donkey), Idiot, Trottel (stupid person), Arsch, Po (buttocks)
Portugueseasno, burro, jumento, besta, jerico, jegue (animal – see also donkey)
Spanishasno, pollino, burro, jumento, acémila, borrico (animal – see also donkey)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does ass come from?

From Middle English asse, from Old English assa, back-formed from assen (“she-ass”), from Celtic (compare Old Irish asan, Old Cornish asen), from Latin asinus. Displaced Old English esol, from Proto-West Germanic *asil, also a loanword from the same Latin word. Sense “stupid person” from the animal's reputation for stubbornness, going back to antiquity (compare Latin asinus (“slow-witted person”)).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after ass