kɪs v. & n. --v. 1 tr.
touch with the lips,
esp. as a
sign of
love,
affection,
greeting, or
reverence. 2 tr. express (greeting or farewell) in
this way. 3 absol. (of
two persons) touch
each others' lips in this way. 4 tr. (also absol.) (of a
snooker ball etc. in motion)
lightly touch (another ball). --n. 1 a touch with the lips in kissing. 2 the
slight impact when one snooker ball etc. lightly touches
another. 3 a
small sweetmeat or
piece of
confectionery. økiss
and tell
recount one's
sexual exploits. kiss a person's
arse coarse sl.
act obsequiously
towards a
person. kiss
away remove (tears etc.) by kissing. kiss-curl a small
curl of
hair on the
forehead, at the
nape, or in
front of the ear. kiss the
dust submit abjectly; be overthrown. kiss
goodbye to colloq.
accept the
loss of. kiss the ground
prostrate oneself as a
token of
homage. kissing
cousin (or
kin or kind) a
distant relative (given a
formal kiss on
occasional meetings). kissing-gate
Brit. a gate
hung in a Vor U-shaped
enclosure, to let one person
through at a
time. kiss of
death an apparently
friendly act
which causes
ruin. kiss
off sl. 1
dismiss,
get rid of. 2 go away, die. kiss of
life mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. kiss of
peace Eccl. a
ceremonial kiss, esp.
during the
Eucharist, as a sign of
unity. kiss the
rod accept chastisement submissively. øøkissable adj. [OE cyssan f. Gmc]
