dis

1 of 5

verb

variants or less commonly diss
dissed; dissing

transitive verb

1
slang : to treat with disrespect or contempt : insult
dissed her former co-star in the interview
was dissed and ignored at the party
2
slang : to find fault with : criticize
dissed her wardrobe

dis

2 of 5

noun (1)

variants or less commonly diss
1
slang : a disparaging remark or act : insult
was meant as a tribute, not a disVibe
2
slang : disrespect

dis

3 of 5

abbreviation

1
discharge
2
discount
3
distance

Dis

4 of 5

noun (2)

mythology
: the Roman god of the underworld (see underworld sense 1) compare pluto

dis-

5 of 5

prefix

1
a
: do the opposite of
disestablish
b
: deprive of (a specified quality, rank, or object)
disfranchise
c
: exclude or expel from
disbar
2
: opposite or absence of
disunion
disaffection
3
: not
disagreeable
4
: completely
disannul
5
: dys-
disfunction

Examples of dis in a Sentence

Verb don't dis my idea until you come up with a better one a DJ who has dissed every album that artist has put out Noun (1) the refs can penalize a player for any dis on the field don't take it wrong—I don't mean it as a dis
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
New face, who 'dis? Can be bribed with candy. Bugs and hisses to my witches! Kate McGregor, House Beautiful, 27 July 2023 Disruption may dis-regulate the clients. Alexander Ralph, Cincinnati.com, 9 June 2020 Not to dis the Silver Palate—because who would ever do that—but I’m pretty sure my pork tenderloin version is even better than the original. Ashley Mason, Bon Appetit, 9 Mar. 2017
Noun
At 45, Shaquille O'Neal has moved beyond rattling rims, but not beyond an old-school diss track. Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, 29 July 2017 Thinking about this some more, this is kind of a dis. Armando Salguero, miamiherald, 9 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

short for disrespect

Noun (2)

Latin

Prefix

borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French des-, borrowed from Latin dis-, dī- (before b, d, g, l, m, n, v, r), dir- (before vowels), dif- (before f) "apart, asunder, in two," of uncertain origin

Note: Latin dis- is conventionally linked with bi- bi- entry 1, bis "twice," going back to *duis, but the loss of -u- is unexplained (perhaps from Indo-European *dus- "bad, dys-," otherwise unattested in Latin, crossed with duis-?). Possibly related are Greek diá "apart, through" (see dia-), assuming *dis-a-, and the West Germanic prefix represented by Old Saxon and Old Frisian te- "apart, in pieces," Old High German zi-, ze- (also zer-, perhaps crossed with zur-, Old English and Old Norse tor- "with difficulty," Gothic tuz-, from the Germanic outcome of Indo-European *dus-) and Old English and Old Saxon to- (assimilated to to entry 1?); the Gothic counterpart dis- "apart, away," with apparently unshifted d-, has no accepted explanation.

First Known Use

Verb

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

1986, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1567, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dis was in 1567

Dictionary Entries Near dis

Cite this Entry

“Dis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dis. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dis

1 of 2 verb
ˈdis
dissed; dissing
1
slang : to treat with disrespect or contempt : insult
2
slang : to find fault with : criticize

dis-

2 of 2 prefix
1
a
: do the opposite of
disagree
b
: deprive of
disarm
c
: exclude or expel from
disbar
2
: opposite or absence of
disaffection
disfavor
3
: not
discourteous
Etymology

Prefix

Latin dis-, literally, "apart"

Medical Definition

dis

abbreviation
1
disabled
2
disease

More from Merriam-Webster on dis

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!