wuss
/wʊs/noun, verb
wuss is spelled W-U-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 53,573rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, wuss means “A weak, ineffectual, cowardly, or timid person” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wuss is wusses.
How many letters and syllables are in wuss?
| Letters | 4: W-U-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 53,573rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is wuss?
Wuss appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 53,573rd 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 wuss?
- US /wʊs/
- British /wɵs/
- /wʉs/
Wuss 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: En-au-wuss.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wuss
- wusses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- wussing participle, present
- wussed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wuss mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
derogatoryslangA weak, ineffectual, cowardly, or timid person.
verb
- 1
Only used in wuss out
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wuss in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense weak, ineffectual person:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chochotte, mauviette, mou |
| German | Weichei, Feigling, Schlappschwanz, Waschlappen, Memme, Schwächling |
| Portuguese | fracote, bundão |
| Spanish | calzonazos, pusilánime, encogido, menguado, achumpipado |
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 wuss come from?
1976–1981 in US college slang. Perhaps abbreviated from wussy, or blend of wimp and puss. Compare earlier wussy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).