effed; effing; effs
informal
—used as a euphemism for fuck in various senses of the word
You don't eff with [=mess with] the Tupac legacy. You just don't.—
Olivia Jade Khoury
Olivia Jade KhouryA guy who likes you a bit more than you like him generally … doesn't eff with your mind.—Jessica Knoll
Jessica KnollShe told them to eff off [=scram].
… he sees this age of mass travel, mass entertainment and mass culture as the best of all possible ages. Anyone who disagrees, he snarls, had better eff off now.—Robert Carver
Robert CarverToronto city council huffed and puffed, the Ford brothers blustered and bullied, the mayor even admitted to buying drugs while in office, and there were renewed apologies: "There is nothing else to say, guys. I really effed up [=messed up]."—Toronto Star
Toronto StarThey threatened to eff him up if he didn't cooperate.
He says something at the end of the movie that effed me up [=upset or shocked me].—Teresa Jusino
Teresa Jusino
plural effs
informal
—used as a euphemism for fuck —used especially with the as a meaningless intensive
told him to shut the eff up
… the bug that flew directly into your eyeball … may have caused you to freak the eff out.—Megan Falk
Megan Falk"… Now they're bleeding firing at us! They've never done that before—what the eff's going on?"—James Clavell
James ClavellWho the eff doesn't like fry bread?—Julien Perry
Julien Perry
efficiency
Examples of eff in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Andy Swift, TVLine, 3 Apr. 2025
In this very twisted take on the Bambi story, our deer — now not simply grief-stricken over the death of his mother but also mutated, effing enormous and sporting an array of sharp, terrifying teeth — embarks on a deadly rampage through the woods seeking revenge.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025
After all, hair grows from the root, so don't eff it up by putting stress on your root.
—Jihan Forbes, Allure, 25 Oct. 2021
Melanie Curry, refinery29.com, 17 Feb. 2025
Throw on a clean shirt and get the eff out of your home.
—Carley Fortune, refinery29.com, 12 June 2024
Shay Mitchell is on the trends, you guys, keep the eff up!
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 21 Sep. 2022
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Verb
Netflix is looking to eff up your summer with a second season of FUBAR, dropping in its entirety on Thursday, June 12, TVLine has learned.
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 3 Apr. 2025
In this very twisted take on the Bambi story, our deer — now not simply grief-stricken over the death of his mother but also mutated, effing enormous and sporting an array of sharp, terrifying teeth — embarks on a deadly rampage through the woods seeking revenge.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 5 Mar. 2025
After all, hair grows from the root, so don't eff it up by putting stress on your root.
—Jihan Forbes, Allure, 25 Oct. 2021
Noun
So, pray tell, what the eff happened to all the non-white people in Season 8 of Love Is Blind?
—Melanie Curry, refinery29.com, 17 Feb. 2025
Throw on a clean shirt and get the eff out of your home.
—Carley Fortune, refinery29.com, 12 June 2024
Shay Mitchell is on the trends, you guys, keep the eff up!
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 21 Sep. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Eff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eff. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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