hiss

Definitions

1. 1.2. To make a similar noise by any means; to pass with a sibilant sound; as, the arrow hissed as it flew. Shod with steel, We hissed along the polished ice. Wordsworth.
2. 2.To condemn or express contempt for by hissing. If the tag-rag people did not clap him and hiss him, according as he pleased and displeased them. Shak. Malcolm. What is the newest grief Ros. That of an hour's age doth hiss the speaker. Shak.
3. 3.To utter with a hissing sound. The long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise. Tennyson.
4. 4.A prolonged sound like that letter s, made by forcing out the breath between the tongue and teeth, esp. as a token of disapprobation or contempt. "Hiss" implies audible friction of breath consonants. H. Sweet. A dismal, universal hiss, the sound Of public scorn. Milton.
5. 5.Any sound resembling that above described; as: (a) The noise made by a serpent. But hiss for hiss returned with forked tongue. Milton. (b) The note of a goose when irritated. (c) The noise made by steam escaping through a narrow orifice, or by water falling on a hot stove.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Related questions

• What does "hiss" mean?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is hiss.

• What is 2. To make a similar noise by any means; to pass with a sibilant sound; as, the arrow hissed as it flew. Shod with steel, We hissed along the polished ice. Wordsworth called?
• What is to utter with a hissing sound. The long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise. Tennyson called?