kissing

kiss·ing
K5I1S1S1I1N1G2
US, UK/ˈkɪsɪŋ/

adjective

That kisses; engaged in a kiss or kissing.

Similar
caressingcuddlingfondlinghuggingneckingpettingsmoochingsnuggling
OriginMiddle English kissynge ← Old English cyssende ← Proto-West Germanic *kussijandī →
CommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

kissing1

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of kiss
adjectivekissing (not comparable)
  1. not comparableThat kisses; engaged in a kiss or kissing.
  2. not comparableJust touching.

kissing2

nounkissing (countable and uncountable, plural kissings)

plural kissings

  1. countableuncountableThe act of giving a kiss or making out.

    There began to be some movement preparatory to the resumption of our journey, and, after many huggings and kissings, the family parted, and the wagon drove off[…]

    1844, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Tales and Sketches

Synonyms & antonyms

nounaffectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)

Similar
caressingcuddlingfondlinghuggingneckingpettingsmoochingsnuggling
Broader
foreplayarousalstimulation
Also see
caressingcuddlingfondlinghuggingneckingpettingsnuggling

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

kissing · verb, adjective

  1. Proto-Germanic*kussijandz
  2. Proto-West Germanic*kussijandī
  3. Old Englishcyssende
  4. Middle Englishkissynge
  5. Englishkissing

From Middle English kissynge, cussinde, from Old English cyssende, from Proto-West Germanic *kussijandī, from Proto-Germanic *kussijandz, equivalent to kiss + -ing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian küsjend, Dutch kussend, German Low German küssend, German küssend, Swedish kyssande, Icelandic kyssandi.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

kissing · noun

  1. Proto-West Germanic*kussīngu
  2. Old English*cyssing
  3. Middle Englishkissynge
  4. Englishkissing

From Middle English kissynge, kyssynge, kessinge, from Old English *cyssing, from Proto-West Germanic *kussīngu, equivalent to kiss + -ing. Cognate with Middle Dutch cussinge (whence Dutch kussing (“kissing”)), Middle Low German küssinge (“kissing”), Middle High German küssunge (“kissing”). Compare also Old English cossettung (“kissing”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans soenery
  • soeneryact of kissing
German Küssen
  • Küssenact of kissing
Persian بوسی
  • بوسی (busi)act of kissing

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with kissing

missinghissingdissing
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

kissing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kissing

MLA

“kissing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kissing. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kissing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kissing.

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