ass

plural asses

1. Any of several species of horselike animals, especially Equus asinus, the domesticated of which are used as beasts of burden.

   In this section "animal" means any horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog.

   1972, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part I, section 20(3)”, in Road Traffic Act 1972, page 14

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   And Iesse tooke an asse laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by Dauid his sonne vnto Saul.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 16:20

   Thus the Aſſe having a peculiar mark of a croſſe made by a black liſt down his back, and another athwart, or at right angles down his ſhoulders; common opinion aſcribes this figure unto a peculiar ſignation; ſince that beaſt had the honour to bear our Saviour on his back.

   1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Same [i.e., the Blacknesse of Negroes]”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 6th book, page 282

   […] suddenly a man, in foreign garments: wonderfully real and distinct to look at: stood outside the window, with an axe stuck in his belt, and leading an ass laden with wood by the bridle.

   1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 51

   Pliny the Elder states that, to increase sexual potency, the right testis of an ass should be worn in a bracelet.

   1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 49

   1. sometimesspecificallyEquus asinus; a domesticated specimen thereof.
2. oftenvulgarnoun sense 1A stupid or inconsiderate person.

   He is such an ass for leaving the house door open.

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   Near-synonyms: fool, idiot, jerk, asswipe; see also Thesaurus:jerk

   That new kid left the cap off the syrup bottle again! What an ass.

   Oh Vengeance! / Who? What an Aſſe am I?

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 264

   I had sprung to my feet. I was speaking, and yet I had prepared no words. Tarp Henry, my companion, was plucking at my skirts and I heard him whispering, "Sit down, Malone! Don't make a public ass of yourself."

   1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC

   Synonyms: fool, idiot, jerk, asswipe, assbag, assbreath, assbucket, asschunk

3. obsoleteslangmediaA compositor.

   Sometimes by way of joke, and sometimes by way of irritation, compositors are called Asses by the pressmen.

   [1841, William Savage, Dictionary of the Art of Printing, page 24

plural asses · alternative @$$

1. UScountableslanguncountablevulgarThe buttocks.

   Synonyms: 'tocks, arse, arse cheeks, ass cheeks, back, backside, batty, behind

2. UScountableslanguncountablevulgarThe anus.

   That does it! Now listen! Why is it that everything today has involved things either going in or coming out of my ass? I’m sick of it! It’s completely immature!

   1997 Matt Stone & Trey Parker, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe," South Park, Season 1, Episode 1 (aired August 13, 1997), Spoken by Eric Cartman (Trey Parker)

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   Train compartment: two sick young junkies on their way to Lexington tear their pants down in convulsions of lust. One of them soaps his cock and works it up the other's ass with a corkscrew motion.

   1962 [1959], William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, New York: Grove Press, page 81

3. USslanguncountablevulgarSex; a person to have sex with.

   piece of ass

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   I'm going to go down to the bar and try to get me some ass.

   Acid, booze, and ass / Needles, guns, and grass

   1971, Joni Mitchell, “Blue”, in Blue

   Synonyms: poontang, poon, punani, pussy, tail, tang, aphrodisia, carnal knowledge

4. USslanguncountablevulgarUsed in similes to express something bad or unpleasant.

   What a load of ass.

   What a bunch of lies/nonsense/disappointment.

   2 more examples

   I feel like ass today.

   I am feeling very bad today.

   This room smells like ass.

   This room smells very bad.

5. UScountableslangvulgarA person; the self; (reflexively) oneself or one's person, chiefly their body.

   Get your lazy ass out of bed!

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   We risk our asses out there every day.

   I'ma get medieval on your ass!

   "All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th," Higgins wrote.

   2025 November 18, Brandon Drenon, quoting Clay Higgins, “The only 'no' vote on releasing Epstein files”, in BBC, archived from the original on 19 Dec 2025

   1. USbroadlycountableslanguncountablevulgarOne's personal safety, or figuratively one's job, prospects, etc.

      Mess up one more time and it's your ass on the line.

1. CanadaUSnot comparableslangvulgarOf low quality; bad.

   "You're so ass," Murray says to another player.

   2021 October 28, Josh Weinfuss, “What we learned about Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray by watching him on Twitch”, in ESPN

   2 more examples

   On a recent episode of "The Justin Dunning Podcast," Starkel shared his thoughts on Martell, a former Ohio State quarterback, saying "he's ass my dude" in reference to Starkel.

   2019 February 5, Alex Miller, “Former Texas A&M QB Nick Starkel breaks down old Twitter beef with Tate Martell”, in Dallas Morning News

   For some reason, the teenager thought it’d be a good idea to criticize Newton and say he's "ass" and that he’s "about to be poor" because he's a free agent.

   2021 February 21, Thomas Carannante, “Patriots: Cam Newton getting disrespected by a teenager is everything that’s wrong with society”, in Fansided

   Synonyms: cruddy, lousy, shoddy, bad, base, below par, bottom-shelf, BTEC

1. USslangvulgarSynonym of -ass (used to intensify an adjective).

   That was one big ass fish!

   1 more example

   That's an expensive ass car!

   Synonyms: -ass

1. abbreviationinitialismbiochemistryInitialism of argininosuccinate synthase.
2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of antisynthetase syndrome.