Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense kisses, present participle kissing, past tense, past participle kissed
1. verb
If you kiss someone, you touch them with your lips to show affection or sexual desire, or to greet them or say goodbye.
She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. [VERB noun + on]
Her parents kissed her goodbye as she set off from their home. [VERB noun noun]
They kissed for almost half a minute. [VERB]
We kissed goodbye. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: peck [informal], osculate, snog [British, slang], neck [informal] More Synonyms of kiss
Kiss is also a noun.
I put my arms around her and gave her a kiss.
We gave each other hugs and kisses every morning.
2. verb
If you kiss something, you touch it lightly with your lips, usually as a sign of respect.
The men stepped forward to kiss the hand of their mentor. [VERB noun]
She bowed her head and kissed the Archbishop's ring. [VERB noun]
3. verb
If you say that something kisses another thing, you mean that it touches that thing very gently.
The wheels of the aircraft kissed the runway. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: brush, touch, shave, scrape More Synonyms of kiss
4.
See to blow a kiss
5.
See to kiss something goodbye
More Synonyms of kiss
kiss in British English
(kɪs)
verb
1. (transitive)
to touch with the lips or press the lips against as an expression of love, greeting, respect, etc
2. (intransitive)
to join lips with another person in an act of love or desire
3.
to touch (each other) lightly
their hands kissed
4. billiards
(of balls) to touch (each other) lightly while moving
noun
5.
the act of kissing; a caress with the lips
▶ Related adjective: oscular
6.
a light touch
7.
a small light sweet or cake, such as one made chiefly of egg white and sugar
coffee kisses
Derived forms
kissable (ˈkissable)
adjective
Word origin
Old English cyssan, from coss; compare Old High German kussen, Old Norse kyssa
KISS in British English
messaging & social media
abbreviation for
keep it simple, stupid
kiss in American English
(kɪs)
verb transitive
1.
to give a kiss to (a person or thing); touch or caress with the lips
2.
to touch lightly or gently
the bowling ball just kissed the pin
verb intransitive
3.
to give a kiss to one another on the lips
4.
to touch one another lightly
noun
5.
a touch or caress with the lips, often with some pressure and suction, as an act of affection, desire, greeting, etc.
6.
a light, gentle touch or slight contact
7.
a.
any of various candies
b.
a baked confection of egg white and sugar
Idioms:
kiss ass
kiss goodbye
kiss off
Derived forms
kissable (ˈkissable)
adjective
Word origin
ME kissen < OE cyssan, akin to Ger küssen < IE base *kus-, prob. echoic
More idioms containing
kiss
kiss goodbye to something
the kiss of death
kiss and make up
COBUILD Collocations
kiss
drunken kiss
plant a kiss
share a kiss
Quotations
You must not kiss and tellWilliam CongreveLove for Love
The kiss originated when the first male reptile licked the first female reptile, implying in a subtle, complimentary way that she was as succulent as the small reptile he had for dinner the night beforeF. Scott FitzgeraldThe Crack-Up
You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss, A sigh is just a sigh; The fundamental things apply, As time goes byHerman HupfeldAs Time Goes By
Word lists with
kiss
text messaging, abbreviations and symbols
In other languages
kiss
British English: kiss /kɪs/ NOUN
A kiss is the act of touching somebody with your lips to show affection or to greet them.
I put my arms around her and gave her a kiss.
American English: kiss
Arabic: قُبْلَةٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: beijo
Chinese: 接吻
Croatian: poljubac
Czech: polibek
Danish: kys
Dutch: kus
European Spanish: beso
Finnish: suukko
French: baiser
German: Kuss
Greek: φιλί
Italian: bacio
Japanese: キス 口
Korean: 키스
Norwegian: kyss
Polish: pocałunek
European Portuguese: beijo
Romanian: sărut
Russian: поцелуй
Latin American Spanish: beso
Swedish: puss
Thai: การจูบ
Turkish: öpücük
Ukrainian: поцілунок
Vietnamese: nụ hôn
British English: kiss /kɪs/ VERB
If you kiss someone, you touch them with your lips to show affection, or to greet them or say goodbye.
She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.
They kissed briefly.
American English: kiss
Arabic: يُقَبِّلُ
Brazilian Portuguese: beijar
Chinese: 接吻
Croatian: poljubiti
Czech: líbat (se)
Danish: kysse
Dutch: kussen
European Spanish: besar
Finnish: suudella
French: embrasser
German: küssen
Greek: φιλώ
Italian: baciare
Japanese: キスする
Korean: 키스하다
Norwegian: kysse
Polish: pocałować
European Portuguese: beijar
Romanian: a săruta
Russian: целовать
Latin American Spanish: besar
Swedish: pussas
Thai: จูบ
Turkish: öpmek
Ukrainian: цілувати(ся)
Vietnamese: hôn
All related terms of 'kiss'
air kiss
a kissing gesture , esp one directed towards a person's cheek , made without making physical contact
deep kiss
a kiss involving insertion of the tongue into the partner's mouth
kiss ass
to be obsequious or fawning , as to gain an advantage or approval
kiss curl
a circular curl of hair pressed flat against the cheek or forehead
kiss off
to ignore or dismiss rudely and abruptly
soul kiss
→ French kiss
French kiss
a kiss involving insertion of the tongue into the partner's mouth
drunken kiss
If you kiss someone, you touch them with your lips to show affection or sexual desire, or to greet them or say goodbye.
kiss goodbye
to kiss in taking leave
blow a kiss
to kiss one's hand , then blow across it as if to carry the kiss through the air to another person
goodnight kiss
a kiss given to a person before going home or going to sleep
kiss of life
If you give someone who has stopped breathing the kiss of life , you put your mouth onto their mouth and breathe into their lungs to make them start breathing again.
plant a kiss
If you kiss someone, you touch them with your lips to show affection or sexual desire, or to greet them or say goodbye.
share a kiss
If you kiss someone, you touch them with your lips to show affection or sexual desire, or to greet them or say goodbye.
kiss-and-tell
If someone who has had a love affair with a famous person tells the story of that affair in public , for example in a newspaper or book , you can refer to this as a kiss-and-tell story.
kiss of death
If you say that a particular event is the kiss of death for something, you mean that it is certain to make them fail or be a disaster .
kiss of peace
→ sign of peace : though still sometimes used, kiss of peace is now mainly applied in historical contexts
kiss sb's ass
Saying that someone can kiss your ass is a very rude way of expressing anger or disagreement .
kiss and make up
to sort out a disagreement and end a conflict
say/kiss goodnight
If you say goodnight to someone or kiss them goodnight , you say something such as 'Goodnight' to them or kiss them before one of you goes home or goes to sleep .
to blow a kiss
If you blow someone a kiss or blow a kiss , you touch the palm of your hand lightly with your lips , and then blow across your hand towards the person, in order to show them your affection .
the kiss of death
something that is certain to cause failure or ruin
kiss goodbye to something
to accept the fact that you are going to lose something or that you will not be able to have it
to kiss something goodbye
If you say that you kiss something goodbye or kiss goodbye to something, you accept the fact that you are going to lose it, although you do not want to.
spit curl
a circular curl of hair pressed flat against the cheek or forehead
Chinese translation of 'kiss'
kiss
(kɪs)
n(c)
吻 (wěn) (个(個), gè)
vt
吻 (wěn)
vi
接吻 (jiēwěn)
to give sb a kiss吻某人一下 (wěn mǒurén yīxià)
to kiss sb goodbye/goodnight与(與)某人吻别(別)/吻某人一下，道晚安 (yǔ mǒurén wěnbié/wěn mǒurén yīxià, dào wǎn'ān)
1 (verb)
Definition
to join lips with another person as an act of love or desire
She kissed me on the cheek.
Synonyms
peck (informal)
She pecked me on the cheek.
osculate
snog (British, slang)
neck (informal)
They were necking together on the sofa when I came in.
smooch (informal)
canoodle (slang)
x (textmessaging)
buss (archaic)
2 (verb)
Definition
to touch lightly
The wheels of the aircraft kissed the runway.
Synonyms
brush
I felt her hair brushing the back of my shoulder.
touch
Her hand gently touched my face.
shave
The ball shaved the goalpost.
scrape
She went round the car scraping the frost off the windows.
graze
A bullet had grazed his arm.
caress
They kissed and caressed one another.
glance off
The ball glanced off my left shoulder.
stroke
She was absentmindedly stroking her cat.
(noun)
Definition
a caress with the lips
I put my arms around her and gave her a kiss.
Synonyms
peck (informal)
He gave me a peck on the lips.
snog (British, slang)
smacker (slang)
smooch (informal)
French kiss
osculation
x (textmessaging)
buss (archaic)
related words
related adjectiveoscular
Quotations
You must not kiss and tell [William Congreve – Love for Love]The kiss originated when the first male reptile licked the first female reptile, implying in a subtle, complimentary way that she was as succulent as the small reptile he had for dinner the night before [F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Crack-Up]You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss, A sigh is just a sigh; The fundamental things apply, As time goes by [Herman Hupfeld – As Time Goes By]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of caress
Definition
to touch gently and affectionately
They kissed and caressed one another.
Synonyms
stroke,
cuddle,
fondle,
pet,
embrace,
hug,
nuzzle,
neck (informal),
kiss
in the sense of glance off
Definition
to be deflected off an object at an oblique angle
The ball glanced off my left shoulder.
Synonyms
graze,
brush,
bounce,
rebound,
skim,
ricochet
in the sense of graze
Definition
to brush against someone gently in passing
A bullet had grazed his arm.
Synonyms
touch,
brush,
rub,
scrape,
shave,
skim,
kiss,
glance off
Synonyms of 'kiss'
kiss
Explore 'kiss' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of neck
Definition
(of two people) to kiss each other passionately
They were necking together on the sofa when I came in.
Synonyms
pet (informal),
make out,
snog (British, informal),
kiss and cuddle,
smooch,
canoodle
in the sense of scrape
Definition
to move (a rough or sharp object) across (a surface)
She went round the car scraping the frost off the windows.
Synonyms
rake,
sweep,
drag,
brush
in the sense of shave
Definition
to touch (someone or something) lightly in passing