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shit

/ʃɪt/

Listen to how locals say it.

Meaning

Feces; also a general-purpose exclamation of annoyance, or a dismissive label for something worthless.Machine-assisted translation

Pronunciation

IPA: /ʃɪt/

“shit” — rhymes with “sit”, short i.

Intensity

SWEAR LEVEL

Rated in-culture by native reviewers, on three separate axes.

VulgarityStrong

How taboo the word itself is inside its own culture.

AggressivenessRude

How far it can go when aimed at a person.

Social riskRude

What the speaker risks saying it to a stranger on the street.

How common

Social Risk

Where it lands, situation by situation. Shape and colour both carry the value.

With friendsOK
At schoolDependsDepending on the teacher and the age group it can be a disciplinary matter.
At workDependsVaries a lot by industry and company culture.
On the streetOK
OnlineOK

OK
Depends
Avoid

Verification

Not verified yetWaiting for native review

Published after an automated pre-check. No native reviewer has confirmed it yet.

A correction desk opens once native review starts. Until then this page records what the sources say.

How it's used

Milder than “fuck” in most English-speaking settings and very common in casual speech; still not broadcast-safe in many regions.Machine-assisted translation

Cultural context

Attested since Old English scitte; the modern exclamation use is documented across British, American and Irish varieties.Machine-assisted translation

Literal meaning

feces

When to avoid it

Situations where people would rather you did not say it.

At school — Depends. Depending on the teacher and the age group it can be a disciplinary matter.
At work — Depends. Varies a lot by industry and company culture.

Sources

Every claim on this page traces back to these entries.

shit — English Wiktionary (English)Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · summarised and translated here · accessed 2026-08-28
Shit — English WikipediaWikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · summarised and translated here · accessed 2026-08-28

Passages derived from these dictionary entries are redistributed under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.