wuss

/wʊs/

//wʊs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"wuss" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wuss” is uncommon English (frequency #53,959 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,959
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A weak, ineffectual, cowardly, or timid person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wuss · wuss · English

wuss · rank #53,959 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,959
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH wooly

Nearest frequency peer: wooly (-1 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “wuss”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “wuss” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for wuss
PropertyValue
Headwordwuss
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/wʊs/
Letters4
Frequency rank#53,959
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “wuss” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).wussfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “wooly” (#53,958), “wiggly” (#53,957), “Yanukovych” (#53,961). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wuss” is #53,959. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

wuss is uncommon English at frequency #53,959 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /wʊs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A weak, ineffectual, cowardly, or timid person.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for wuss, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1976–1981 in US college slang. Perhaps abbreviated from wussy, or blend of wimp and puss. Compare earlier wussy. The correct English form is wuss, spelled W-U-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A weak, ineffectual, cowardly, or timid person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 1976, Univ. N. Carolina, Chapel Hill, Campus Slang typescript Nov. 6 Come on you wuss, hit a basket..! John's a wuss.
  2. You are a wuss: part wimp, and part pussy

Etymology

1976–1981 in US college slang. Perhaps abbreviated from wussy, or blend of wimp and puss. Compare earlier wussy.

Synonyms

pansypushoverweaklingwimppusspussymilksopcoward

This word in other languages

calzonazos(Español)chochotte(Français)Weichei(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wuss"?
"wuss" is spelled W-U-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /wʊs/.
What does "wuss" mean?
As a noun, "wuss" means: A weak, ineffectual, cowardly, or timid person.
How do you pronounce "wuss"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wuss" is /wʊs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "wuss"?
1976–1981 in US college slang. Perhaps abbreviated from wussy, or blend of wimp and puss. Compare earlier wussy. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "wuss", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

vena#53,940acyl#53,983ails#53,990Amur#54,002

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list