From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhisshiss /hɪs/ ●○○ verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]SOUNDSAY to say something in a loud whisper ‘Get out!’ she hissed furiously.hiss at She hissed at me to be quiet.2 [intransitive]CSOUND to make a noise which sounds like ‘ssss’ The cat backed away, hissing. Snakes only hiss when they are afraid.► see thesaurus at sound3 [intransitive, transitive]DISAPPROVE if a crowd hisses a speaker, they interrupt them with angry sounds to show that they do not like them → boo He was booed and hissed during a stormy meeting. —hiss noun [countable] She heard a faint hiss as the metal struck the water.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
hiss• "Are you crazy?" he hissed.• a snake hissing• Now he hisses and spins in jumps while powder ice clings to the air but by trade he's a long-haul skater.• They hissed, as evil as geese.• Relatives of the victim hissed as the killer was led from the courtroom.• Hundreds of people shouted and hissed at the prime minister.• She hisses her disapproval, then snatches up the denims, and digs the key from one of the pockets.• Blisters which had formed the first time now burst, weeping clear fluid on to the burner which hissed like an angry snake.• The flow from the tap stops - and there may be hissing or bubbling noises as well.• It sounded as though gas was hissing out of a pipe.• Air hissed out of the tyre.• I was booing and hissing the bad guys with the best of them, and I usually hate audience participation.• He hissed those words under his breath, your friend, his fingers digging mindlessly into the clear plastic packets of prophylactics.Origin hiss (1300-1400) From the sound 