cuss
/kʌs/verb, noun
cuss is spelled C-U-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, cuss means “To use cursing, to use bad language, to speak profanely” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cuss?
| Letters | 4: C-U-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cuss?
Cuss appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th 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 cuss?
- US /kʌs/
- /kʊs/
Cuss 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)-Vealhurl-cuss.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cuss?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cuss from its last stressed vowel (/ʌs/):
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 cuss
- cusses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- cussing participle, present
- cussed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cuss mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
UScolloquialTo use cursing, to use bad language, to speak profanely.
noun
- 1
UScolloquialA curse.
- 2
UScolloquialA curse word.
- 3
UScolloquialFellow, person.
He's an abrupt-sounding cuss, but good-hearted too.
- 4
UScolloquialdatedA fellow, person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cuss in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to use cursing:
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 cuss come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).