hiss

plural hisses

1. A sibilant sound, such as that made by a snake or escaping steam; an unvoiced fricative.

   Her voice was a hiss, like gas escaping from a bottle of soda.

   1951, William Styron, chapter 6, in Lie Down in Darkness, New York: Vintage, published 1992, page 292

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   Their music frightful as the serpent’s hiss, And boding screech-owls make the concert full!

   1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

   […] over head the dismal hiss Of fiery Darts in flaming volies flew,

   1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 212-213

   A hundred Reeds, of a prodigious Growth, Scarce made a Pipe, proportion’d to his Mouth: Which, when he gave it Wind, the Rocks around, And watry Plains, the dreadful Hiss resound.

   1717, John Dryden [et al.], “Book 13. [The Story of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea.]”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC

   […] his form was soon covered over by the twilight as his footsteps mixed in with the low hiss of the leafy trees.

   1874, Thomas Hardy, “Blame—Fury”, in Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume II, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC, page 13

2. An expression of disapproval made using such a sound.

   1716, Joseph Addison, The Free-Holder, 16 April, 1716, London: D. Midwinter and J. Tonson, pp. 203-204, The Actors, in the midst of an innocent old Play, are often startled with unexpected Claps or Hisses; and do not know whether they have been talking like good Subjects, or have spoken Treason.

   3 more examples

   […] in open disputations ye haue bene openly conuict, ye haue bene openly driuen out of the schole with hisses […]

   1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC, book V, Part 2, The Oration of Byshop Brookes in closing vp this examination agaynst Doctour Cranmer Archbishop of Caunterbury,, page [1878]

   Once or twice she was encored five and six times in succession, and received with hisses when she appeared, and discharged with hisses and laughter when she had finished—then instantly encored and insulted again!

   1869, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXIX, in The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims’ Progress; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company. […], →OCLC

   Like a moustachioed pantomime villain relishing boos and hisses from the audience, Trump is oblivious to warnings and protestations from the sane world and simply contemptuous of the lickspittle mob desperately hoping to go unnoticed.

   2026 January 24, Michael Pascoe, “America’s mighty economic power has feet of clay”, in Michael West Media

present singular third person hisses · participle present hissing · participle past hissed · past hissed

1. intransitiveTo make a hiss, a sibilant sound of air escaping.

   As I started to poke it, the snake hissed at me.

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   The poor cat hissed as it backed away from the approaching man.

   And in his wound the seared blood did make a gréeuous sound, As when a peece of stéele red who tane vp with tongs is drownd In water by the smith, it spirts and hisseth in the trowgh.

   1567, Ovid, “The Twelfth Booke”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC, folio 152, recto

   The man came back, and said something in a lower voice, to which the other replied, “she sleeps,” or Ellena was deceived by the hissing consonants of some other words.

   1797, Ann Ward Radcliffe, chapter 7, in The Italian, volume II, London: T. Cadell Jun. & W. Davies, page 236

   The frying pan hissed and sizzled as Ishvar gently slid ping-pong sized balls into the glistening oil.

   1995, Rohinton Mistry, chapter 10, in A Fine Balance, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, page 487

   Synonyms: fizzle, fizz

2. transitiveTo call someone by hissing.

   I stepped out of my tent in Marrakech one night to get a bar of candy and caught your dose of clap when that Wac I never even saw before hissed me into the bushes.

   1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 172

3. intransitivetransitiveTo condemn or express contempt (for someone or something) by hissing.

   The crowd booed and hissed her off the stage.

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   If the tag-rag people did not clap him and hiss him, according as he pleased and displeased them, as they use to do the players in the theatre, I am no true man.

   1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]

   The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee […]

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezekiel 27:36

   VVherefore this Religious affection vvhich nature has implanted, and as ſtrongly rooted in Man as the feare of death or the love of vvomen, vvould be the moſt enormous ſlip or bungle ſhe could commit, ſo that ſhe vvould ſo ſhamefully faile in the laſt Act, in this contrivance of the nature of Man, that inſtead of a Plaudite ſhe vvould deſerve to be hiſſed off the Stage.

   1653, Henry More, chapter XII, in An Antidote against Atheisme, or An Appeal to the Natural Faculties of the Minde of Man, whether There Be Not a God, London: […] Roger Daniel, […], →OCLC, book II, page 102

   The Play, perhaps, has many things amiss: Well, let us then reduce the point to this, Let only those that have no failings, hiss.

   1793, Elizabeth Inchbald, Every One Has His Fault, London: G.G.J. and J. Robinson, Prologue

   As the culprits went through the town and plantations they were laughed at, hissed, and hooted by the slaves […]

   1803, Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, Letter 5, p. 145

4. transitiveTo utter (something) with a hissing sound.

   2012, Hilary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies, New York: Henry Holt, Part 2, “Master of Phantoms,” All day from the queen’s rooms, shouting, slamming doors, running feet: hissed conversations in undertones.

   3 more examples

   Lies oft o’erthrown with ceaseless Venom spread, Still hiss out Scandal from their Hydra Head,

   1761, Robert Lloyd, An Epistle to C. Churchill, London: William Flexney, page 7

   the long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise […]

   1855, Alfred Tennyson, “Maud”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 20

   It turns out that the driver of the red Ferrari that caused the crash wasn't, as I first guessed, a youngster, but a 60-year-old. Clearly, he had energy to spare, which was more than could be said about a panel I listened to around the same time as the crash. Indeed, someone hissed in my ear during a First Magazine awards ceremony in London's imposing Marlborough House on 7 December: "What we need is more old white men on the stage."

   2011 December 14, John Elkington, “John Elkington”, in The Guardian

5. intransitiveTo move with a hissing sound.

   The arrow hissed through the air.

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   The Troops of Troy recede with sudden Fear, While the swift Javelin hiss’d along in Air.

   1718, Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, London: Bernard Lintott, Volume 4, Book 15, lines 690-691, p. 192

   All shod with steel We hissed along the polished ice […]

   1815, William Wordsworth, “Influence of Natural Objects”, in Poems by William Wordsworth, volume 1, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, page 46

   All the preceding afternoon and night heavy thunderstorms had hissed down upon the meads, and washed some of the hay into the river […]

   1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XXIII, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume II, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC, phase the third (The Rally), page 20

   Ennis del Mar wakes before five, wind rocking the trailer, hissing in around the aluminum door and window frames.

   1997, Annie Proulx, “Brokeback Mountain”, in Close Range: Brokeback Mountain and Other Stories, London: Harper Perennial, published 2005, page 283

6. transitiveTo emit or eject (something) with a hissing sound.

   The radiator bubbled and hissed steam.

   1939, John Steinbeck, chapter 26, in The Grapes of Wrath, New York: Viking, page 500

   2 more examples

   The man in white pyjamas hissed soda into his glass.

   1938, Graham Greene, Brighton Rock, London: Heinemann, Part 2, Chapter 1, p. 72

   He hissed air intently through a gap in his upper teeth.

   1976, Ira Levin, The Boys from Brazil, New York: Dell, published 1977, Part 1, p. 16

7. transitiveTo whisper, especially angrily or urgently.

   "Are you quite sure of it," she hissed into his ear, "Mr Fang, Junior?"

   1881, Elim Henry D'Avigdor, Across Country, Bradbury, Agnew

   1 more example

   "Oh please," she said, "don't let him see us!" I wouldn't let her push me away. "Stop!" she hissed. "He'll see us!"

   1968, James A. Emanuel, Theodore L. Gross, Dark symphony, →ISBN