hiss /hɪs/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: From the sound ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to say something in a loud whisper:
‘Get out!’ she hissed furiously.
hiss at
She hissed at me to be quiet.
2 . [intransitive] to make a noise which sounds like ‘ssss’:
The cat backed away, hissing.
Snakes only hiss when they are afraid.
3 . [intransitive and transitive] if a crowd hisses a speaker, they interrupt them with angry sounds to show that they do not like them ⇨ boo :
He was booed and hissed during a stormy meeting.
—hiss noun [countable] :
She heard a faint hiss as the metal struck the water.
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THESAURUS
■ made by air or gas
▪ hiss a continuous high sound when air or gas comes out of something:
There was a hiss of steam from the coffee machine.
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Workers reported hearing a loud hiss moments before the explosion.