What does "kiss" mean?
A touch with the lips, usually to express love or affection, or as a greeting.
Kiss
/kɪs/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A touch with the lips, usually to express love or affection, or as a greeting.
- Grammar: kiss is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: buss, buss, osculate, osculation.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, miss, refusal.
- Usage evidence: I never see her without wanting to kiss her.
How to use "kiss"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "kiss" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "kiss" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "kiss" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "kiss" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "kiss" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "buss" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "kiss", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A touch with the lips, usually to express love or affection, or as a greeting.
"“It was the most absurd kiss. I don't believe he'd ever kissed a woman in his life before. I threw my head back, and it was a sort of slidy, pecking dab, just on the end of the chin — here.” Mrs. Hauksbee tapped her masculine little chin with her fan."
- 2 a light glancing touch wordnet
- 3 An 'X' mark placed at the end of a letter or other type of message, signifying the bestowal of a kiss from the sender to the receiver.
"With some satisfaction, Gergory read this through twice, signed it and added kisses[.]"
- 4 the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof) wordnet
- 5 A type of filled chocolate candy, shaped as if someone had kissed the top. See Hershey's Kisses.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 any of several bite-sized candies wordnet
- 7 The alignment of two bodies in the solar system such that they have the same longitude when seen from Earth; conjunction.
- 8 a cookie made of egg whites and sugar wordnet
- 9 A low-speed mid-air collision between the envelopes of two hot air balloons, generally causing no damage or injury.
Verb
- 1 To touch with the lips or press the lips against, usually to show love or affection or passion, or as part of a greeting. transitive
"He […] kissed her lips with such a clamorous smack, / That at the parting all the church echoed."
- 2 Acronym of keep it simple, stupid. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
"KISS when you're writing."
- 3 touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc. wordnet
- 4 To (cause to) touch lightly or slightly; to come into contact. ambitransitive
"The nearside of the car just kissed a parked truck as he took the corner at high speed."
- 5 touch lightly or gently wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Of two or more people, to touch each other's lips together, usually to express love or affection or passion. reciprocal
"We're kissing in the moonlight / Love was shining so bright and true"
- 7 To treat with fondness. archaic, transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Hungarian.
Example
"I never see her without wanting to kiss her."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "kiss"?
Common synonyms include: buss, buss, osculate, osculation, smooch, snog.
How do you use "kiss" in a sentence?
I never see her without wanting to kiss her.
How do you pronounce "kiss"?
Pronounced /kɪs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English kissen, kussen, from Old English cyssan (“to kiss”), from Proto-West Germanic *kussijan, from Proto-Germanic *kussijaną (“to kiss”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian küsje, Dutch kussen, German Low German küssen, German küssen, Danish kysse, Swedish kyssa, Norwegian kysse, Icelandic kyssa. Compare Proto-Indo-European *ku-, *kus- (probably imitative), with byspels including Ancient Greek κύσσω (kússō), poetic form of κύσω (kúsō, “to kiss”), and Hittite [script needed] (kuwassanzi, “they kiss”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English kis, kys, kus, forms of cos influenced by kissen, from Old English coss, from Proto-West Germanic *koss, from Proto-Germanic *kussaz.
Etymology 3
* As a Hungarian surname, from Kiss. * As an English surname of Norman origin, from Anglo-Norman cuisse (“thigh”).