Word
ouch
US/ˈaʊtʃ/
UK/ˈaʊtʃ/
Definitions
03high price
interj. you say this when you find out something is very expensive.
interj. an exclamation expressing shock or dismay at a high price or financial cost.
“Fifty dollars for a burger? Ouch, I think I'll eat somewhere else.”
“Ouch, the repair bill for the transmission is going to be significantly higher than the car's actual market value.”
Informal · Slang
04a small injury
n. a small injury or something that causes a little bit of pain.
n. a minor physical injury or a source of mild discomfort.
“The toddler ran to his mother to show her the ouch on his knee.”
“It was just a little ouch, but the child insisted on a colourful bandage to feel better.”
Informal
Usage
Often used in 'child-directed speech' or when speaking playfully about minor injuries.
Teaching tip
This noun use is very informal and typically restricted to domestic or childcare contexts.
Synonyms
05to cry out in pain
v. to say the word 'ouch' because you are in pain.
v. to utter the exclamation 'ouch' in response to pain or discomfort.
“He started ouching as soon as the nurse touched the bruised area.”
“The patient began ouching the moment the physical therapist applied pressure to the inflamed joint.”
Informal
Usage
Intransitive; often used in the progressive form to describe repeated exclamations.
Etymology
Uncertain. Some sources say the interjection is attested since 1838 (and specifically in American English) and derives ultimately from German autsch, perhaps specifically via Pennsylvania German outch (“cry of pain”), as early attestations of the interjection are from Pennsylvania. However, others say the interjection is a "mere" or "natural" exclamation attested since the mid 1600s, and the 1933 OED cites one instance of a verb "ouch" in 1654, "Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse".
Variant forms.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/ouch