kiss someone's ass

verb

"kiss-someone-s-ass" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kiss someone's ass” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To flatter someone (especially a superior) in an obsequious manner, and to support their every opinion to gain their favor.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kiss-someone-s-ass · kiss someone's ass · English

kiss someone's ass · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 18 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for kiss someone's ass
PropertyValue
Headwordkiss someone's ass
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kiss someone's ass” in English

kiss someone's asssits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kiss someone's ass is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To flatter someone (especially a superior) in an obsequious manner, and to support their every opinion to gain their favor.".

Zero misspellings are on record for kiss someone's ass in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Said because the ass is considered vulgar and being willing to kiss another's is considered a sign of submission and patronage. The correct English form is kiss someone's ass, spelled K-I-S-S- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E-'-S- -A-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    To flatter someone (especially a superior) in an obsequious manner, and to support their every opinion to gain their favor.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how kiss someone's ass appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] Mr. Trump said he would not tell a “vicious joke” about the chief justice, who was present. “I’m going to kiss his ass for a long time,” the president said. That strategy did not seem to work.

Etymology

Said because the ass is considered vulgar and being willing to kiss another's is considered a sign of submission and patronage.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kiss someone's ass"?
"kiss someone's ass" is spelled K-I-S-S- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E-'-S- -A-S-S.
What does "kiss someone's ass" mean?
As a verb, "kiss someone's ass" means: To flatter someone (especially a superior) in an obsequious manner, and to support their every opinion to gain their favor.
What is the origin of the word "kiss someone's ass"?
Said because the ass is considered vulgar and being willing to kiss another's is considered a sign of submission and patronage. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list