kissing
Syllables: kiss·ingUK/ˈkɪsɪŋ/
kissing is the present participle and gerund of kiss.
Adjective
kissing (not comparable)
Meaning of kiss
Verb
kiss (third-person singular simple present kisses, present participle kissing, simple past and past participle kissed or (obsolete) kist)
- To touch with the lips or press the lips against, usually to show love or affection or passion, or as part of a greeting.
- He […] kissed her lips with such a clamorous smack, / That at the parting all the church echoed.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- To (cause to) touch lightly or slightly; to come into contact.
- The nearside of the car just kissed a parked truck as he took the corner at high speed.
- Of two or more people, to touch each other's lips together, usually to express love or affection or passion.
- We're kissing in the moonlight / Love was shining so bright and true1990, Norell Oson Bard, “Kissing in the Moonlight”performed by The Boppers
- To treat with fondness.
Noun
kissing (countable and uncountable, plural kissings)
- The act of giving a kiss or making out.
- There began to be some movement preparatory to the resumption of our journey, and, after many huggings and kissings, the family parted, and the wagon drove off[…]1844, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Tales and Sketches
Forms of kissing
| plural | kissings |
|---|
Origin of kissing
From Middle English kissynge, cussinde, from Old English cyssende, from Proto-West Germanic *kussijandī, from Proto-Germanic *kussijandz, equivalent to kiss + -ing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian küsjend, Dutch kussend, German Low German küssend, German küssend, Swedish kyssande, Icelandic kyssandi.
From Middle English kissynge, kyssynge, kessinge, from Old English *cyssing, from Proto-West Germanic *kussīngu, equivalent to kiss + -ing. Cognate with Middle Dutch cussinge (whence Dutch kussing (“kissing”)), Middle Low German küssinge (“kissing”), Middle High German küssunge (“kissing”). Compare also Old English cossettung (“kissing”).
Words formed from kissing
- ass kissing
- ass-kissing
- baby kissing
- French kissing
- kissing ball
- kissing booth
- kissing bridge
- kissing bug
- kissing-bunch
- kissing comfit
- kissing cousin
- kissing-crust
- kissing dance
- kissing disease
- kissing gate
- kissing goes by favor
- kissing gourami
- kissing kin
- kissing number
- kissing string
- antikissing
- kissingly
Phrases with kissing
- kissing up
- kissing ass
- kissing off
- kissing out
- kissing arse
- kissing bugs
- soul kissing
- kissing balls
- kissing gates
- kissing hands
- kissing up to
- kissing booths
26 more phrasesFewer phrases
- kissing dances
- tongue kissing
- freedom kissing
- kissing comfits
- kissing cousins
- kissing goodbye
- kissing numbers
- kissing strings
- kissing the rod
- kissing gouramis
- kissing the book
- kissing the dust
- kissing the ring
- kissing gouramies
- kissing and telling
- kissing one's teeth
- kissing and making up
- kissing someone's ass
- kissing someone's hem
- kissing someone's arse
- kissing someone's ring
- devil is kissing his wife
- kissing someone on the dick
- kissing the gunner's daughter
- shaking hands and kissing babies
- kissing the hem of someone's garment
Words that rhyme with kissing
Questions about kissing
- What does kissing mean?
- Kissing means that kisses; engaged in a kiss or kissing.
- What is kissing the present participle and gerund of?
- Kissing is the present participle and gerund of kiss.
- What part of speech is kissing?
- Kissing can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce kissing?
- Kissing is pronounced /ˈkɪsɪŋ/ (UK).
Words near kissing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: kissing (page history and authors); kiss (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-kissing.ogg.
Cite this entry: “kissing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kissing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.