kiss
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Touch with the lips or press the lips as an expression of love.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kisIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɪs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
transitive
To touch with the lips or press the lips against, usually to show love or affection or passion, or as part of a greeting.
reciprocal
Of two or more people, to touch each other's lips together, usually to express love or affection or passion.
Acronym of keep it simple, stupid.
noun
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.
A touch with the lips, usually to express love or affection, or as a greeting.
A type of filled chocolate candy, shaped as if someone had kissed the top. See Hershey's Kisses.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
Used this way, kiss is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Affectionate
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use kiss
- “The newly married couple kissed.”verb
- “The blossoms were kissed by the soft rain.”verb
- “There was a brief kiss of their hands in passing.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs).
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A greeting signifying Christian love for those assisting at the Eucharist.
Annual with broadly ovate leaves and slender drooping spikes of crimson flowers.
Something that is ruinous.
Large bloodsucking bug.
A more or less distant relative.
An acute disease characterized by fever and swollen lymph nodes and an abnormal increase of mononuclear leucocytes or monocytes in the bloodstream.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: 'X' mark placed at the end of a letter
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “kiss” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.