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French kiss

French kiss

6 3.3
A kiss where one person puts their tongue into the other's mouth
  • noun
  • /frɛntʃ kɪs/
  • NSFW
translation icon : beso francés
  • My first French kiss was in 5th grade; good old spin the bottle.
  • call a French kiss
  • know how to French kiss

Examples

Synonyms

Frenching
vsFrench kiss
  • NSFW
1 8.4

To kiss someone with your tongue

is the neutral descriptive phrase for the same mouth contact action
deep kiss
vsFrench kiss
  • NSFW
1 4.1

A long open-mouthed kiss where people touch tongues

is the standard descriptive phrasing for that identical mouth contact action
soul kiss
vsFrench kiss
  • NSFW
1 7.8

An open-mouthed touch of lips and tongue to show strong feeling

focuses on the physical motion rather than emotional expression during contact
tonguing
vsFrench kiss
  • NSFW
8.5

Kissing someone using the tongue in a passionate way

is a neutral description of the same physical action without sexual focus
pash
vsFrench kiss
  • NSFW
9.9

A long passionate kiss shared in public

is the neutral private description of the same action without public connotation

How Intimate

to make out
  • NSFW
130 8.1
French kiss
  • NSFW
6 3.3
to kiss
1.0
peck
31 2.6

Surface Forms

French kiss singular
French kisses plural

Morphology

French + kiss

Although 'kiss' is transparent, the adjective 'French' does not logically indicate open-mouthed or tongue-based contact; the specific meaning is a conventionalized cultural label for a particular kissing style. A B1 learner who only knows 'French' (relating to France) and 'kiss' would not reliably infer the tongue insertion feature without prior exposure, so the expression is idiomatic rather than compositional.

Etymology

The expression French kiss may come from the old idea that the French were more romantic and used a deep kiss with the tongue. So today French kiss means 'an open-mouthed kiss with the tongue'.