fuck
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to have sexual intercourse with.
-
to treat unfairly or harshly (usually followed byover ).
verb (used without object)
-
to have sexual intercourse.
-
to meddle (usually followed bywith ).
interjection
noun
-
an act of sexual intercourse.
-
a partner in sexual intercourse.
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a personespecially one who is annoying or contemptible.
-
the fuck, (used as an intensifierespecially with WH-questionsto express annoyanceimpatienceetc.)
verb phrase
idioms
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as fuck, to a great degree (used as a general intensifier).
He's mad as fuck.
-
give a fuck, to care; be concerned (usually used in the negative).
When it comes to politicsI really don't give a fuck.
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give zero fucks, to not care at all; to be entirely uninterested or unconcerned: Also give no fucks
Why waste your energy hating on people who give zero fucks about you?
verb
noun
-
an act of sexual intercourse
-
a partner in sexual intercourseesp one of specified competence or experience
-
not to care at all
interjection
Sensitive Note
For many peoplethe word fuck is extremely vulgarconsidered improper and taboo in all of its senses. Even sovarious forms of the wordprimarily in its nonliteralslang senseshave increasingly crept into casual usenot only as spontaneous expletives of shockhorroror angerbut also as verbal tics and common intensifiersmere indices of annoyance or impatience or even pleasant surprise: Where are my fucking keys? What the fuck is taking so long? This is fucking awesome! Neverthelessthe term is best avoided altogether if you are not certain how your audience will receive it. The mass broadcast media have actually been forced by the threat of punitive fines to block audiences from hearing iteither by banning its use entirely or by bleeping all or part of the sound. Simply blocking out the vowel sound in the middle can defuse the offense of the “f-bomb.” Although its first known occurrence in writing dates from the late 1400s (disguised in a cipher at that)the word fuck was undoubtedly heard long before thatand it remains primarily a creature of the spoken language. Well into the 20th centuryit was generally regarded as unprintableand forms like f*** or f--k or some spelling distortion like frack or frig or fork or fug were typically substituted for it in writing. In speechcreative euphemisms aboundsome born with each new generation. We now have eff and effing as well as f-word and f-bomb, all of which allow us to discuss the term without resorting to its actual use.
Usage
The use and overuse of fuck in the everyday speech of many people has ledto some extentto a lessening of its impact as an expletive. Howeverthe word still retains its shock valuealthough it is less now than it was when the critic Kenneth Tynan caused controversy by saying it on British television in 1965
Other Word Forms
- fucky adjective
Etymology
Origin of fuck
First recorded in 1495–1505; akin to Middle Dutch fokken “to thrustcopulate with,” Swedish dialect focka “to copulate withstrikepush,” from fock “penis”
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridgedbased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary© Random HouseInc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 200220011995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
