Word.ws English Dictionary

gave someone the shits

gave someone the shits is the simple past and past participle of give someone the shits.

Meaning of give someone the shits

Verb

give someone the shits (third-person singular simple present gives someone the shits, present participle giving someone the shits, simple past gave someone the shits, past participle given someone the shits)

  1. (Australia, colloquial, vulgar) To annoy or frustrate someone to a great degree.
    • Can you stop sending me text messages at two in the morning? You're giving me the shits!
  2. (vulgar) To creep someone out; to scare someone.
    • Can you stop perching on the cliff ledge? You're giving me the shits!
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: cause diarrhea.
    • Can you stop ignoring the health code requirements for commercial kitchens? You're giving everyone the shits!

Questions about gave someone the shits

What is gave someone the shits the simple past and past participle of?
Gave someone the shits is the simple past and past participle of give someone the shits.

Words near gave someone the shits in the dictionary

  1. gave someone the eye
  2. gave someone the gears
  3. gave someone the heave-ho
  4. gave someone the old heave-ho
  5. gave someone the runaround
  6. gave someone the shits
  7. gave someone the slip
  8. gave someone the time
  9. gave someone their cards
  10. gave someone their flowers
  11. gave someone to understand

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gave someone the shits (page history and authors); give someone the shits (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “gave someone the shits.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gave_someone_the_shits. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.