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shit

/ʃɪt/

Listen to how locals say it.

This entry covers shit, an expression in English as used in United States · United Kingdom · Australia · Canada · Ireland · New Zealand.

Machine translation Some text on this page is machine-translated and has not been reviewed yet.

Contents

Meaning

Feces; also a general-purpose exclamation of annoyance, or a dismissive label for something worthless.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Pronunciation

IPA: /ʃɪt/

“shit” — rhymes with “sit”, short i.^[1]

Intensity

SWEAR LEVEL

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

VulgarityStrong

Assessed as how taboo the word itself is inside its own culture.

AggressivenessRude

Assessed at the most aggressive natural use aimed at a person.

Social riskRude

Assessed as what the speaker risks when saying it to a stranger on the street.

How common

Social Risk

Assessed social risk by setting.

With friendsLow risk
At schoolContext-dependentDepending on the teacher and the age group it can be a disciplinary matter.
At workContext-dependentVaries a lot by industry and company culture.
On the streetLow risk
OnlineLow risk

Low risk
Context-dependent
Best avoided

Shape and colour encode the same value.

Verification

Content review: Not verified yet
Translation: Machine-translated, review pending
Sources last checked: 2026-08-28

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.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Cultural context

Attested since Old English scitte; the modern exclamation use is documented across British, American and Irish varieties.^[1]^[2]Machine-assisted translation

Literal meaning

feces^[1]^[2]

When to avoid it

Situations in which the expression is generally best avoided.

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

Sources

Every claim on this page traces back to these entries.

↑Meaning ↑Pronunciation ↑How it's used ↑Cultural context ↑Literal meaning shit — English Wiktionary (English)Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · summarised and translated here · accessed 2026-08-28
↑Meaning ↑How it's used ↑Cultural context ↑Literal meaning 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.