diss

1 of 3

verb

less common spelling of dis

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

diss

2 of 3

noun

plural disses
slang
: an insulting expression of disrespect or criticism
… a much loved and much hated album; earning some equally passionate critical raves and disses.Brett Milano
Even the ultimate pop-culture endorsement—a bunch of reality-TV shows like "Dig Wars" based on their hobby—are seen as a diss. "They make us look bad," Mr. Thompson said.Abigail Pesta
On March 25, in a major public diss to Windsor fund manager Charles Freeman, Vanguard announced that effective June 1, it will turn over some of Windsor's stock portfolio to another firm.Allan Sloan

diss

3 of 3

abbreviation

Examples of diss in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Yet another rapper who’s apparently taken sides in the ongoing war is Travis Scott, who appears on Future and Metro’s project, though not overtly dissing Drake in any of his lyrics. Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2024 Drake has finally dropped his Kendrick Lamar diss track. Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024 Courtney Love took shots at several fellow female musicians over the weekend, dissing the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Lana Del Rey and Madonna. Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Apr. 2024 During their romance, the Puerto Rican rapper, 30, seemingly dissed Booker in one of his songs. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024 Popular culture is not in need of more songs in which women diss each other over a man. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Mar. 2024 The play off hemp for the billboards dissing Tampa Bay and Florida came because hemp products (which are legally defined as a cannabis plant that contains 0.3% or less of THC) are commonly used in states that haven't legalized recreational marijuana. Detroit Free Press, 20 Jan. 2024 In a recent acceptance speech at the New York Film Critics Circle, Nolan recalled doing a virtual Peloton workout when the instructor began dissing one of his movies. Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2024 In 2018, the rapper dissed the Recording Academy for nominating him for eight awards earlier that year, but leaving him to go home empty handed. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 5 Feb. 2024
Noun
The track, a diss aimed at Kendrick Lamar, features vocals meant to sound like 2Pac, likely created using artificial intelligence. Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 24 Apr. 2024 An earlier version of the scathing diss surfaced on the internet on Saturday (April 13) and DJ Akademiks premiered the CDQ version hours later. Michael Saponara, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024 Ross appeared to drop a diss toward Drake before his track was officially out. Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2024 While Lamar’s diss was the most blatant, fans have speculated that both Future and Metro had also taken some shots at Drake on the album. Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2024 Released last month, the thumping diss track hit the Billboard Hot 100 in a flash but went dynamite across X, Instagram, and TikTok thanks to a surprise verse from Kendrick Lamar, the Compton rapper who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 and who is considered by many to be the best rapper alive today. Jason Parham, WIRED, 9 Apr. 2024 On the track, the Fayetteville, NC native opened by addressing Lamar’s diss. Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024 Face beat, waves flowing, and dressed to kill, Vestal delivered the scathing EpiPen diss heard ’round the world. Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 5 Mar. 2024 Scheana Shay is celebrating the holiday season with a catchy new song — and a not-so-subtle diss. Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 9 Dec. 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1987, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diss was in 1987

Dictionary Entries Near diss

Cite this Entry

“Diss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diss. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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