ass

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈas 

1

: any of several hardy gregarious (see gregarious sense 1a) African or Asian perissodactyl mammals (genus Equus) smaller than the horse and having long ears

especially : an African mammal (E. africanus) that is the ancestor of the donkey

2

informal + impolite : a stupid, stubborn, or detestable person

a pompous ass

made an ass of himself

He was an ass to her, dissing her script (which he apparently lost), telling her women couldn't be artists and that she looked so much prettier with makeup on.

—Lauren Piester

—often compounded with a preceding adjective

Don't be a smart-ass.

ass

2 of 3

noun (2)

ˈas 

variants or arse

ˈas,

ˈärs 

1

a

informal + impolite : buttocks

—often used in emphatic reference to a specific person

Get your ass over here.

saved my ass

b

informal + impolite : anus

2

offensive : sexual intercourse

ass

3 of 3

adverb

informal + impolite

—used as a postpositive intensive especially with words of derogatory implication

fancy-ass

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• donkey

Examples of ass in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the farm kept a few asses for hauling hay in and out of the field

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Here’s a guy who’s just married, on his honeymoon, drunk off his ass, and being given the steering wheel to a plane with 400 people behind him. —Lynette Rice, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2025

First-party Nintendo games get confirmed dates In an initially confusing teaser, Metroid heroine Samus Aran appeared in the direct riding a bad ass sci-fi motorcycle in what looked like an entirely new game. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2025

Like, don’t make an ass out of me. —Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 9 Sep. 2025

Everyone’s not kind of having to cover their ass in case something messes up. —Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English assa, probably from Old Irish asan, from Latin asinus

Noun (2) and Adverb

Middle English ars, ers, from Old English ærs, ears; akin to Old High German & Old Norse ars buttocks, Greek orrhos buttocks, oura tail

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

circa 1920, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ass

• bass
• bras
• brass
• casse
• chasse
• class
• crass
• das
• dass
• frass
• gas
• lass

Kids Definition

ass

noun

ˈas

1

: any of several mammals resembling but smaller than the related horses and having a shorter mane, shorter hair on the tail, and longer ears

especially : donkey

2

informal : a stupid or stubborn person