# take the piss

> English word · Verb

## Definitions
1. To tease, ridicule or mock (someone).
2. To subject those present to teasing, ridicule or mockery, or to show contempt.
3. To be outrageously unreasonable.

## Etymology
Possibly from piss-proud (“falsely presenting as successful”). In which case taking the piss out of would mean deflating their false pride, usually through disparagement or mockery. As the piss-proud metaphor became dated, taking the piss out of someone came to refer to disparagement or mockery itself, regardless of the pride of the subject. Eventually the shortened, intransitive form taking the piss became common.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/take-the-piss