sass

1 of 2

noun

1
informal
a
: impudent speech : back talk
She takes no sass from her students.
b
: bold rudeness or impertinence especially when considered playful, appealing, or courageous
It is all dished out by combat-ready waitresses whose borscht belt sass lends extra spice to the meal.Jane and Michael Stern
… Ferraro showed off her sass. She critiqued President Reagan by name with a series of crowd pleasing one-liners.Kathy Kiely
2
informal : an appealingly exciting, lively, or spirited quality
… Mick Jagger's recent solo may be high on style and sass, but it's tough to beat Talk Is Cheap for real primitive cool.David Fricke
As they have for a decade, the international wealthy favor New York City for its comparative safety and social sass.J. D. Reed
Like a vintage jazz tune, fine Scotch delivers smooth flavor and sass.Audarshia Townsend

sass

2 of 2

verb

sassed; sassing; sasses

transitive verb

: to talk impudently or disrespectfully to

Examples of sass in a Sentence

Noun an old-fashioned diner where getting sass from the waitstaff is part of the experience Verb He got drunk and sassed a cop.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Padma Lakshmi shared a salad recipe — with a side of teenager sass. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 Oldest person in the US says 'speak your mind' Drew Barrymore's 1995 Playboy cover comes back to haunt her with daughter's sass When is leap day 2024? Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2024 Mary Fields), a real-life Wild West icon who provides transportation and conversation with equal measures of sagacious sass. Joe Leydon, Variety, 29 Feb. 2024 Ike and Tina's biggest R&B and crossover hit yet (debuting at No. 2 on Billboard's R&B chart and No. 14 on the Hot 100) was a charmed call-and-response duet that first showcased the sass Tina was capable of bringing to a track. Jonathan P. Higgins, EW.com, 26 May 2023 Stella is radiant in her debut feature role, full of sass and exuding a bold self-confidence. Sonia Rao, Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2024 The former Ike & Tina Turner singer possessed the style, the songs and sass, her mid-‘80s solo comeback is the stuff of legend, and her longevity helped to redraw the lines for showbiz. Lars Brandle, Billboard, 25 May 2023 Lamb chops pick up a nice char from the grill and some sass from a dollop of fiery harissa. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2023 These are great notebooks with a little bit of sass. The View, ABC News, 15 Dec. 2023
Verb
Often, vaudeville routines co-starred zany Hebrew comediennes, who sassed and scolded their counterparts, rebuffing Abie Cohen’s advances in favor of Irishmen or Italians. Jody Rosen, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2023 Jennie, Rosé, Jisoo and Lisa easily nailed a mix of Coachella cool and K-pop razzle-dazzle, stomping and sassing beneath a towering temple roof and making the most of the gigantic stage. August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2023 With her awe- and fear-inspiring attitude, the comedian-singer-postmodern diva is often recommended for anyone who loves onstage chaos and sass a la Pink Martini, Liza Minnelli or Bette Midler. Donna Freedman, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Jan. 2020 No stranger to reality TV, Delano got her start by sassing Simon Cowell on American Idol season 7 (as Danny Norriega) but was eliminated after making the Top 16. Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 25 Nov. 2019 That's right: Now there's a robot who can sass you as well as any teenager. Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 13 June 2019 Here, Prince Harry was captured sassing photographers while getting out of a car to visit the hospital after his cousin, Princess Beatrice of York, was born in 1988. Lyndsey Matthews, Town & Country, 19 May 2018 Although Archie’s a little shaking at the start of this number (think Zac Efron at the beginning of High School Musical), Betty takes over and uses it as an opportunity to apologize to Veronica after publicly sassing her a few minutes prior. Gianluca Russo, Teen Vogue, 19 Apr. 2018 An entertaining Twitter account, in which Daniels often and humorously sassed back at the name callers, recently went private. Jean Marbella, baltimoresun.com, 19 Apr. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sass.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

alteration of sauce entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1856, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sass was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near sass

Cite this Entry

“Sass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sass. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sass

verb
ˈsas
: to reply to in a rude disrespectful way
sass noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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