shit
- 01 C1 Advanced
n.solid waste that comes out of the body.
n.fecal matter or excrement. Highly vulgar in most social contexts.
Simple“He stepped in some dog shit while walking through the park.”
In context“The sanitation workers had to deal with raw shit leaking from the broken pipe in the basement.”
UsageUsually uncountable when referring to the substance.
- 02 C1 Advanced
n.a collection of things, belongings, or activities.
n.a collection of items, events, or personal belongings; often used to refer to one's life or situation generally.
Simple“I need to go home and pack all my shit before the flight.”
In context“She told him to get his shit together if he wanted to keep his job at the firm.”
UsageUncountable; often used with possessives like 'my shit' or 'your shit'.
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.something that is not true or is of very poor quality.
n.deceptive talk, nonsense, or worthless information.
Simple“Don't believe him; he's just talking shit to make himself look good.”
In context“The politician's speech was full of the same old shit that nobody believes anymore.”
UsageOften used in the phrase 'don't give me that shit'.
- 04 C1 Advanced
n.a difficult or dangerous situation.
n.serious trouble or a predicament.
Simple“If the boss finds out we lost the file, we are in deep shit.”
In context“The company found itself in deep shit after the audit revealed years of unpaid taxes.”
UsageCommonly used in the phrase 'in deep shit'.
Synonyms - 05 C2 Proficiency
n.something that is excellent or the very best of its kind.
n.the highest quality or most impressive example of something.
Simple“You have to hear their new album; it is the shit.”
In context“In the nineties, owning this specific model of car meant you were really the shit in this neighborhood.”
UsageAlways used with the definite article 'the'.
Synonymsthe besttop tierAntonyms - 06 C1 Advanced
v.to pass waste from the body.
v.to defecate. Both transitive and intransitive uses are common.
Simple“The cat shit on the rug again this morning.”
In context“He was so scared during the ordeal that he nearly shit his pants.”
UsageThe past tense can be 'shit', 'shat', or 'shitted'.
Synonymsdefecatepoop - 07 C1 Advanced
v.to try to trick or tease someone.
v.to attempt to deceive or tease someone, often used in the progressive 'shitting'.
Simple“Are you shitting me? There's no way you won the lottery.”
In context“I thought he was shitting me when he said he was moving to Japan next week.”
UsageUsually used in the present continuous.
- 08 C1 Advanced
adj.very bad, broken, or of poor quality.
adj.of extremely poor quality; contemptible or unpleasant.
Simple“This is a shit movie; let's watch something else.”
In context“The weather was absolutely shit for the entire duration of our camping trip.”
UsageCan be used before a noun or after a linking verb.
“If they make shit music, it’ll still be shit music.”
“She came to his studio in LA, and the pair, he says, “instantly became friends, and realised how much shit we had in common, in the way we create, the way we think”.”
From Middle English schit, schyt, from Old English sċite (“dung”) and sċitte (“diarrhoea”), from Proto-West Germanic skiti and skittjā, from Proto-Germanic skitiz, from Proto-Indo-European *skeyd- (“to split, divide, separate”). Related to Saterland Frisian Skiete, West Frisian skyte, skyt, Dutch schijt, German Low German Schiet, German Scheiße, Danish skidt, Swedish and Norwegian Nynorsk skit, Norwegian Bokmål skitt, Icelandic skítur. Compare shite. Doublet of scheisse.
From Middle English schiten, shiten, from Old English sċītan, from Proto-West Germanic skītan, from Proto-Germanic skītaną, from Proto-Indo-European skéydt, from skeyd-, skeh₁i-d (“to cut”) (compare skey-). Cognate with West Frisian skite, Low German schieten, Dutch schijten, German scheißen, Danish skide. More at shed.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.