hiss

«hiss» in Mova's school dictionary: to make a long «sss» sound, like a snake or steam escaping — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (hiss, hisses, hissed, hissing); noun (a hiss, hisses)

meaning for a pupil

1) To hiss is to make a long «sss» sound, like a snake or steam escaping. tree →

2) A hiss is that sound. tree →

3) To hiss can mean to say something in a sharp, angry whisper. tree →

4) An audience may hiss to show they dislike someone. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories hissing tells the reader about danger or anger: snakes and cats hiss as a warning, a villain hisses words. In science and everyday life it describes steam from a kettle, gas escaping, air leaking from a tyre or a fizzy drink being opened. Phrases: «hiss at», «hiss of steam», «hissed through her teeth».

examples

• The snake hissed and raised its head. tree →
• Our cat hisses when the neighbour's dog comes near. tree →
• The kettle began to hiss on the stove. tree →
• I heard a hiss as the air came out of my bike tyre. tree →
• «Be quiet!» she hissed. tree →
• The crowd hissed at the villain in the pantomime. tree →
• If you smell gas or hear a hiss from the cooker, tell an adult at once. tree →
• The drink can opened with a hiss. tree →
• “Nearer!” hissed Kaa, and they all moved again. tree →

note

Third person «hisses», plural noun «hisses». It is an imitative word (it sounds like what it means). Safety: a hissing cat or snake is warning you to keep away.

In the corpora

• Brass players buzz their lips into the mouthpiece; blowing without buzzing gives just a hiss.
• The Australian frilled lizard opens a huge neck frill and hisses to look bigger, then runs away on its back legs.
• Snow leopards cannot roar like lions and tigers; they hiss, growl and make a puffing sound instead.
• In spring a mallard mother marches a wobbly line of ducklings across the path while a swan hisses at anyone near its nest.
• White storks are almost silent and clatter their bills to greet each other, while chicks hiss and mew before they learn to clatter.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «hiss» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.