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Origin and Etymology of putz
Yiddish puts, literally, "finery, show," probably from putsn "to clean, shine"; akin to German putzen "to adorn, clean"
Definition of putz
intransitive verb
US, informal
:to spend time in an aimless or idle manner :putter, fool around
—usually + around
- But come July or August, I invariably find myself putzing around the kitchen, making something sort of weird, like potato-Roquefort salad sandwiches, heavy on the dill.
- —Karen MacNeil
Recent Examples of putz from the Web
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My normal thing to do is putz around on my antique collection of tractors.
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Yoda: Don’t underestimate the wizened little green guy putzing around with a lightsaber.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'putz.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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