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Meaning & use

kiss

verb, noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/kɪs/
US/kɪs/

Meanings

  1. verbtransitive or intransitive

    To touch someone or something with your lips as a sign of love, greeting or respect.

    Grammar: Takes an object: kiss her cheek; or no object: they kissed.

    Patterns

    • kiss someone on the cheek
    • kiss someone goodbye

    She kissed her son goodnight.

    They kissed under the umbrella.

    He kissed her hand.

  2. nouncountable

    An act of touching someone with your lips as a sign of love or greeting.

    Grammar: Countable: give a kiss; blow a kiss.

    Patterns

    • a kiss on the cheek
    • give someone a kiss

    She gave her mother a quick kiss.

    He blew a kiss from the train.

    They shared a long kiss.

  3. nouncountablefigurative

    A light touch of one thing against another, or a small sweet candy.

    Grammar: Often figurative: a kiss of sunlight.

    Patterns

    • a kiss of something

    The soup needed a kiss of lemon.

    She bought a bag of chocolate kisses.

    The ball got a kiss of the post.

  4. verbtransitiveliterary

    To brush lightly against a surface.

    Grammar: Literary and used with light, wind or small objects.

    Patterns

    • kiss something

    The breeze kissed the water.

    The ball barely kissed the post.

    Light kissed the tops of the hills.

Word forms

third person singularkisses
past tensekissed
past participlekissed
-ing formkissing
pluralkisses

Common combinations

blow a kiss
She blew a kiss to the crowd.
kiss goodbye
He kissed her goodbye at the door.
kiss on the cheek
They greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek.
kiss and make up
The two friends kissed and made up.
passionate kiss
The film ends with a passionate kiss.
stolen kiss
They shared a stolen kiss.

Synonyms and how they differ

peck
Peck is a quick, light kiss, less romantic than a full kiss.
smooch
Smooch is an informal, playful word for kissing, often romantic.
embrace
Embrace means holding in the arms, not touching with lips.
brush
Brush means touching lightly, without the affection implied by kiss.

Word family

kisser noun
a person who kisses, or informal for the mouth
kissable adjective
worth kissing
kissing noun
the act of kissing

Commonly confused: kiss or kids?

kiss vs kids

Kids is a plural noun for children, unrelated to kiss despite the sound.

Practice

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