Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • interjection Used to express disdain.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • An exclamation of contempt.
  • To express contempt by or as by the exclamation “Pish!”
  • To say “Pish!” to.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To express contempt.
  • interjection An exclamation of contempt.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • interjection An expression of disdain.
  • noun A sibilant noise (e.g. "psshh") made by birders and ornithologists to attract small birds.
  • verb To try to attract birds by making a sibilant noise (e.g. "psshh").
  • verb To express contempt.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word pish.

Examples

  • Or you could learn how to "pish" -- Pete Dunne will demonstrate "pishing," or imitating a bird call to attract birds.

    Island Packet: Home 2009

  • Or you could learn how to "pish" -- Pete Dunne will demonstrate "pishing," or imitating a bird call to attract birds.

    Island Packet: Home 2009

  • Or you could learn how to "pish" -- Pete Dunne will demonstrate "pishing," or imitating a bird call to attract birds.

    Island Packet: Home 2009

  • Or you could learn how to "pish" -- Pete Dunne will demonstrate "pishing," or imitating a bird call to attract birds.

    Island Packet: Home 2009

  • Or you could learn how to "pish" -- Pete Dunne will demonstrate "pishing," or imitating a bird call to attract birds.

    Island Packet: Home 2009

  • Or you could learn how to "pish" -- Pete Dunne will demonstrate "pishing," or imitating a bird call to attract birds.

    Island Packet: Home 2009

  • Captain Handsome has asked me a few times to go snow boarding with him and I kind of pish-poshed the idea, because even though I am a decent skier, the board sounds difficult and painful, and why go through all that when I can just stay at home naked and watch CSI?

    whitehelmet Diary Entry whitehelmet 2005

  • Miss Glover said something which sounded like 'pish' or 'tush'.

    A Good Wife Neels, Betty 1999

  • Her grandmother uttered a sound which could have been 'pish' or 'tush', indicative of her disbelief.

    A Kind Of Magic Neels, Betty 1991

  • He added that Molly had also written to Jack, but to what effect he knew not; only that Jack, after reading it in his presence, had 'pish'd' and pocketed it in a huff.

    Hetty Wesley Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch 1903

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • pet fish

    December 14, 2006

  • Pish!

    July 17, 2007

  • A sound, described as a cross between a whistle and a whisper, used by birders to attract birds. Right, reesetee?

    December 29, 2008

  • Just so, skip. Here's more information for anyone who's interested.

    December 29, 2008

  • Pish!

    December 29, 2008

  • Bilby, you have a chickadee on your shoulder.

    December 30, 2008

  • Squeak!

    December 30, 2008

  • "physio1: flood in Lanark today.

    whatusernameainttaken: some of the play is stinking, pish.

    physio1: and inverness was flood too.

    hoops_mikey_hoops: aww.

    poshasbo: extreme pishing in lanark."

    - viewer comments on St Mirren v Celtic football match, justin.tv, 7 March 2009.

    March 7, 2009

  • Is this the same pish that appears in the phrase "pish tush", which I seem to remember from "The Mikado"?

    Pitti Sing.

    March 8, 2009

  • Yiddish for piss.

    April 6, 2009

  • Also see pugh.

    July 5, 2013