ish
adv. · n.-
1 somewhat or approximately (adv.) B2 Upper Intermediate Informal Slangused to mean 'kind of' or 'more or less' when you are not being exact.
used as a standalone adverb to indicate a degree of approximation or to qualify a previous statement as being only partially true.
ExampleAre you finished with your homework? Ish.
ExampleWhen asked if the project was nearing completion, he replied with a non-committal 'ish', suggesting there were still several minor tasks to resolve.
- sort of
- kind of
- approximately
-
2 nonsense or stuff (n.) C1 Advanced Slang American Englisha polite way to say 'shit' when talking about stuff, nonsense, or things you do not like.
a euphemistic substitution for 'shit', used to refer to possessions, nonsense, or undesirable situations without using a profanity.
ExampleI need to get all my ish together before we move to the new house.
ExampleThe artist claimed he was tired of dealing with the industry ish and just wanted to focus on his music again.
From is.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Middle English -ish English -ishbf. English ish Back-formation from -ish.
From Pitman ess and eff, which it resembles phonetically and graphically, and the sound it represents. The change in vowel probably reflects the familiar suffix -ish.
Phonetic spelling of the clipping of issue.
From earlier isht, a minced oath and metathetic alteration of shit.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated June 20, 2026