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ouch. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
ouch, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
ouch in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
ouch you have here. The definition of the word
ouch will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
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English
Etymology 1
Uncertain. Some sources say the interjection is attested since 1838 (and specifically in American English) and derives ultimately from German autsch, perhaps specifically via Pennsylvania German outch (“cry of pain”), as early attestations of the interjection are from Pennsylvania. However, others say the interjection is a "mere" or "natural" exclamation attested since the mid 1600s, and the 1933 OED cites one instance of a verb "ouch" in 1654, "Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse".
Pronunciation
Interjection
ouch
- An expression of one's own physical pain.
Ouch! You stepped on my toe! That hurt!
- An expression in sympathy at another's pain.
Ouch! Her sunburn looks awful.
- A reply to an insult seen as savage (frequently one that is tongue-in-cheek or joking).
Ouch. How could you say that?
- An expression of disappointment.
Ouch, I really wanted to do that.
- (slang) Expressing surprise at the high price of something.
Ouch, one hundred thousand dollars for a car! I could never afford that!
Synonyms
Translations
expression of one’s own physical pain
- Afrikaans: eina (af)
- Arabic: أَحّ (ar) (ʔaḥḥ), حِلْيَة (ḥilya)
- Hijazi Arabic: أي (ʔayy), أح (ʔaḥḥ), آخ (ʔāḵ)
- Armenian: ախ (hy) (ax), վախ (hy) (vax)
- Bikol Central: aray
- Breton: aiou (br)
- Bulgarian: ох (oh)
- Catalan: au (ca)
- Cherokee: ᎠᏲ (ayo)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 哎喲/哎哟 (zh) (āiyō), 哎呀 (zh) (āiyā)
- Czech: au (cs)
- Danish: av (da)
- Dutch: au (nl)
- Esperanto: aj (eo), uj (eo), aŭ (eo)
- Finnish: ai (fi), au (fi), auts (fi), auh!, aijai, auh
- French: aïe (fr), ouille (fr)
- German: au (de), aua (de), autsch (de)
- Greek: αχ (el) (ach), ωχ (el) (och)
- Hebrew: אח (he), אוי (he)
- Hungarian: jaj (hu)
- Icelandic: ái
- Ido: aye (io)
- Indonesian: aduh (id)
- Italian: ahi, ahia
- Japanese: 痛い (ja) (itai), いて (ite), いてて (itete)
- Kapampangan: aray, aw
- Kimaragang: odoi
- Korean: 아야 (ko) (aya)
- Kurdish:
- Northern Kurdish: ax (ku)
- Lakota: yúŋ
- Latin: au (la), hau
- Lithuanian: au (lt)
- Malay:
- Jawi: ادوه
- Rumi: aduh (ms)
- Maltese: aħħ
- Maori: taukahore
- Navajo: ayáo, ayáh
- Norwegian: au (no)
- Ojibwe: iyoo
- Pashto: وخ (wax), وئ (wëy)
- Persian: آخ (fa) (âx), آی (fa) (ây)
- Polish: aua (pl), au (pl), auć (pl)
- Portuguese: ai (pt), au (pt)
- Romanian: ai (ro), au (ro), ah (ro), vai (ro), aoleu (ro)
- Russian: ой (ru) (oj), ай (ru) (aj), ох (ru) (ox), а́уч (ru) (áuč) (neologism)
- Scottish Gaelic: oich, oit, aobh
- Serbo-Croatian: au (sh), auć, joj (sh), jao (sh)
- Spanish: ay (es), uy (es)
- Swedish: aj (sv)
- Tagalog: aray, aruy, aguy, ay (tl)
- Tamil: ஐயோ (ta) (aiyō)
- Telugu: అభా (abhā)
- Thai: อุ๊ย (th) (úi), อุ๊ยตาย (úi-dtaai), โอ๊ย (th) (ói)
- Tibetan: ཨ་ར (a ra) (general pain), ཨ་ཚ (a tsha) (heat), ཨ་ཆུ (a chu) (cold)
- Vietnamese: úi da, ai da, ui da, đau (vi)
- Yoruba: yéè
- Yup'ik: akekataki
- Zealandic: ai
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expression in sympathy at another’s pain
- Finnish: auts (fi), auh, oi voi, oijoi, voi voi
- French: aïe (fr)
- Greek: αχ (el) (ach)
- Malay:
- Jawi: ادوه, ادوي, وادوه
- Rumi: aduh (ms), adoi, waduh
- Norwegian: au da, uff da
- Pashto: وخ (wax), وئ (wëy)
- Swedish: aj (sv), aj aj aj, aj då
- Tibetan: སྙིང་རྗེ (snying rje)
- Yoruba: yéè
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Noun
ouch (plural ouches)
- (informal) Something that causes discomfort or pain.
- Synonym: ooch
1986 June, “RhuliGel Soothes the Itches and Ouches of Summer ”, in Myrna Blyth, editor, Ladies’ Home Journal, volume CIII, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Meredith Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 161, column 2:RhuliGel soothes the itches and ouches of summer.
Translations
something that causes discomfort or pain
Verb
ouch (third-person singular simple present ouches, present participle ouching, simple past and past participle ouched)
- (intransitive) To exclaim "ouch!" in discomfort or pain.
1984 April 21, “Mousie Mousie Wildflower”, in Gay Community News, page 18:Imperturbability your skill, not mine / I ouch out loud and clear / Your forgiveness, like Pope's divine / I'm just an angry queer
Translations
to exclaim “ouch!” in discomfort or pain
Etymology 2
Variant forms.
Noun
ouch (plural ouches)
- Alternative form of ouche
References
- ^ “ouch”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ^ “ouch”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933. ("ouch")
- ^ “ouch”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- ^ “ouch”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ 1654, Gayton, Pleas. Notes IV. ii. 176, "But harke Sancho Pancas Runs Ouching round the mountaine like a ranck-Asse, Braying for's Company.
Anagrams
French
Pronunciation
Interjection
ouch
- interjection expressing a sharp pain: ouch!
Synonyms