cuss word
A swear word, said the country way.
Also called curse word, swear word.
Updated September 21, 2026
cuss word pronunciation
/KUSS wurd/
Meaning
What Mama calls foul language when she is not about to say the foul language itself. In Southern and Appalachian talk, cuss is the everyday twin of curse, so a cuss word is any swear or dirty word. Church folk and shop talk both use it without flipping to textbook "profanity."
How folks use it
- “Don't you let me hear another cuss word out of that mouth.”
- “He dropped a cuss word when the hammer got his thumb.”
Origin and etymology
Cuss is an American shortening of curse, from dropping the r before s in older speech (same family as ass from arse). Cuss word shows up in American English by the mid-1800s. It stuck hard in rural Southern talk as the plain label for bad words.
Frequently asked questions
Is cuss word different from swear word?
Same idea. Cuss word is just the form you hear more on porches and in church parking lots.