# shit

/ˈʃɪt/ (US) · /ʃˈɪt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/shit
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. waste

noun · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Informal

solid waste that comes out of the body.

For teachers: fecal matter or excrement. Highly vulgar in most social contexts.

- He stepped in some dog shit while walking through the park.
- The sanitation workers had to deal with raw shit leaking from the broken pipe in the basement.

Usage: Usually uncountable when referring to the substance.

### 2. stuff or things

noun · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Slang · Informal

a collection of things, belongings, or activities.

For teachers: a collection of items, events, or personal belongings; often used to refer to one's life or situation generally.

- I need to go home and pack all my shit before the flight.
- She told him to get his shit together if he wanted to keep his job at the firm.

Usage: Uncountable; often used with possessives like 'my shit' or 'your shit'.

### 3. nonsense or lies

noun · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Slang · Informal

something that is not true or is of very poor quality.

For teachers: deceptive talk, nonsense, or worthless information.

- Don't believe him; he's just talking shit to make himself look good.
- The politician's speech was full of the same old shit that nobody believes anymore.

Usage: Often used in the phrase 'don't give me that shit'.

### 4. trouble

noun · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Slang · Informal

a difficult or dangerous situation.

For teachers: serious trouble or a predicament.

- If the boss finds out we lost the file, we are in deep shit.
- The company found itself in deep shit after the audit revealed years of unpaid taxes.

Usage: Commonly used in the phrase 'in deep shit'.

### 5. the best

noun · CEFR C2 · Vulgar · Slang · American English

something that is excellent or the very best of its kind.

For teachers: the highest quality or most impressive example of something.

- You have to hear their new album; it is the shit.
- In the nineties, owning this specific model of car meant you were really the shit in this neighborhood.

Usage: Always used with the definite article 'the'.

### 6. to excrete

verb · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Informal

to pass waste from the body.

For teachers: to defecate. Both transitive and intransitive uses are common.

- The cat shit on the rug again this morning.
- He was so scared during the ordeal that he nearly shit his pants.

Usage: The past tense can be 'shit', 'shat', or 'shitted'.

### 7. to tease or lie

verb · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Slang · Informal

to try to trick or tease someone.

For teachers: to attempt to deceive or tease someone, often used in the progressive 'shitting'.

- Are you shitting me? There's no way you won the lottery.
- I thought he was shitting me when he said he was moving to Japan next week.

Usage: Usually used in the present continuous.

### 8. bad quality

adjective · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Slang · Informal

very bad, broken, or of poor quality.

For teachers: of extremely poor quality; contemptible or unpleasant.

- This is a shit movie; let's watch something else.
- The weather was absolutely shit for the entire duration of our camping trip.

Usage: Can be used before a noun or after a linking verb.

## Examples

- I need to clear all this shit off my desk.
- He was in deep shit with his boss after missing the deadline for the third time this month.
- The dialogue is full of the kind of authentic street shit that makes the film feel grounded in its specific urban setting despite the fantastical plot.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.