oss

O1S1S1
UK/ɒs/

verb

To set about, or intend be inclined to set about (doing something).

CommonScrabble 3

Meanings

oss1

verb
  1. dialectalTo set about, or intend be inclined to set about (doing something).

    Aw'm ossin t' goo t' Buxton

    1885, Thomas Hallam, Four Dialect Words: Clem, Lake, Nesh, and Oss, Their Modern Dialectal Rang, Meanings, Pronunciation, Etymology, and Early Or Literary Use, page 58
    5 more examples

    JENNET. [...] Soa yee see Ise ossin towart hausekeepin. SARAH. Whya nowt but weel. Wees nit hev the weddin an kirsenin at yaa time, that's a cumfort. JENNET. Hed Sammy ivver offerd onny thing that's mismannerd to me, awr courtship wod sean hae[…]

    1840, Ann Coward Wheeler, The Westmoreland Dialect in Four Familiar Dialogues: In which an Attempt is Made to Illustrate the Provincial Idiom, page 64

    "Dun you know if the glasses is ossing to sattle?"

    1872, Notes and Queries, page 492

    Eh, Mary, w'ereta for? / O'm ossin' t' goo t' Eccles

    1876, Richard Morris, On the Survival of Early English Words in Our Present Dialects, page 60

    I told you to do so and so, but you dunna oss to do it.

    1903, Bye-gones: Relating to Wales and the Border Counties, page 136

    ... but he didn't oss for t' goo any ner.

    2024 August 1, Deborah Mutch, British Socialist Fiction, 1884-1914, Volume 3, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN
  2. dialectalTo offer (to do something).

    an' nobody ossin' to do it

    1870, Axon, Black Kt., page 56, quoted in the EDD
    3 more examples

    They owe fer cannels, an' meyle, an' nivver oss to pay.

    1875, Bickerdike, Beacon Alm., page 41, quoted in the EDD

    "... he ne'er osses pay me, an aw hearn foaks sen he isna gettingk on gradely reet, so aw'st just caw an ax for th' brass afore he goes to th' wa', an then aw'st caw an get thee a yew pair o' pattens as aw coom hwom!"

    1886, Robert Holland, A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester, page 459

    Tom Stokes 'e ossed to goo an' ketch 'er, an' wen 'er runned by 'im 'e thraowed a stone vicious, an' 'it 'er ov the heye, an' 'er worn't good fur nothin' ahterwards, an' I sowld 'er fur wot 'er 'ud fetch[…]

    1897, Hamilton Kingsford, Vigornian Monologues: A Series of Papers in Illustration of the Dialect of Worcestershire, page 11

oss2

nounoss (plural osses)

plural osses

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of 'oss.

OSS3

nounOSS (countable and uncountable, plural OSSes or OSS's or OSSs)

plural OSSes · plural OSS's · plural OSSs

  1. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablecomputingInitialism of open-source software.
  2. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableeducationInitialism of out-of-school suspension.
  3. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablecommunicationsInitialism of operations/operational support system.
  4. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablebroadcastingInitialism of over-the-shoulder shot.
proper noun
  1. abbreviationhistoricalinitialismInitialism of Office of Strategic Services (a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II).

OSs4

noun
  1. pluralplural of OS

Oss5

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

oss · verb

Unclear. Middle English ōssen had a rather different meaning, "to reveal, to prophesy", but the OED suggests it could nonetheless be the same verb. The origin of the Middle English verb is itself obscure, but it may be a variant of halsen, from Old English hālsian, although this too had a rather different meaning, "to beseech, entreat; to exorcise; to imprecate".

Full word history & related roots →

Oss · proper noun

  1. DutchOss
  2. EnglishOss

Borrowed from Dutch Oss.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with oss

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

oss. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oss

MLA

“oss.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oss. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oss,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oss.

Source: oss on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.