putz

1 of 2

noun

ˈpəts 

1

US, informal : a stupid, foolish, or ineffectual person : jerk

2

US, vulgar slang : penis

putz

2 of 2

verb

putzed; putzing; putzes

intransitive verb

US, informal

: to spend time in an aimless or idle manner : putter, fool around

—usually + around

But come July or August, I invariably find myself putzing around the kitchen, making something sort of weird, like potato-Roquefort salad sandwiches, heavy on the dill.

—Karen MacNeil

Examples of putz in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

For residents of the Bay Area’s fancy, new, tricked-out condo and apartment towers, the coronavirus lockdown is more than a mandate to stay home and putz around in your slippers. —J.k. Dineen, SFChronicle.com, 23 Mar. 2020

Yoda: Don’t underestimate the wizened little green guy putzing around with a lightsaber. —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2019

But don’t putz around and let another session go by without housing reform. —BostonGlobe.com, 17 Oct. 2019

Really made just for putzing around in the woods, but stick some road-like tires on it and race it on a compacted-dirt track, why not? —Rasputin Todd, Cincinnati.com, 5 Sep. 2019

She and her dad would spend the weekends putzing around race tracks, talking their way into hospitality tents, begging team owners for a shot. —Zak Keefer, Indianapolis Star, 18 May 2018

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Yiddish puts, literally, "finery, show," probably from putsn "to clean, shine"; akin to German putzen "to adorn, clean"

First Known Use

Noun

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1946, in the meaning defined above