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Glite Dictionary
to cuss at

to cuss at

5 8.1
To say rude words to someone or something
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌs æt/
  • Offensive
translation icon : insultar a
  • I couldn't believe my ears when he began to cuss at his teammates in frustration.
  • cussed at the officer
  • gonna cuss at

Examples

  • Saturday, I yelled and cussed at the TV and the coaches just like always.

    Blog text (16)

  • She was so angry that she started to cuss at the driver who cut her off.

  • How long you gonna keep cussing at me?

    Day of the Dead (2008)

  • Dad, are we gonna cuss at the dinner table?

    Jungle Fever (1991)

  • Did you cuss at me?

    How High (2001)

  • I'm giving them one less thing to cuss at.

    Gods and Generals (2003)

  • I cuss at work if I'm having a bad day or if someone cuts me off in traffic.

    Blog text (27)

  • Don't you be cussing at me.

    Meet the Browns (2008)

  • He was cussing at me.

    Blog text (29)

  • I’m not here to cuss at you or make a fool of myself.

    Blog text (22)

Synonyms

to swear
vsto cuss at
  • Offensive
253 4.3

To use rude or offensive words, often when angry

is directed at someone rather than general use of profanity
to curse
vsto cuss at
  • Offensive
192 4.1

To say bad words in anger

is aimed at someone rather than being merely an angry outburst
to cuss
vsto cuss at
  • NSFW
30 8.1

To say swear words when angry or frustrated

is used toward someone rather than just spoken generally
to swear at
vsto cuss at
  • Offensive
7 6.5

Say rude words to someone when angry

is language used toward someone rather than general profanity
to let out a curse
vsto cuss at
  • Offensive
6.8

To say a bad word when you feel angry or hurt

is used toward someone rather than as a spontaneous exclamation
to drop the f-bomb
vsto cuss at
  • Offensive
9.9

Say the rude word 'fuck', often in a situation where it surprises or offends people

is language aimed at someone rather than a lone shocking word
to drop an atomic F-bomb
vsto cuss at
  • Offensive
9.7

To use the F-word to shock people

is directed at someone rather than a general dramatic profanity display
to turn the air blue
vsto cuss at
  • Offensive
9.9

To use swear words, often when angry

is language aimed at someone rather than general vulgar talk

Antonyms

to compliment
95 1.6

To say something nice about someone or their work

How Hostile

to vilify
43 7.9
to cuss at
  • Offensive
5 8.1
to insult
  • Offensive
543 2.1
to tell off
  • Informal
13 4.2

Surface Forms

cuss at infinitive
cussed at past
cussed at past participle
cussing at present participle
cusses at third person singular

Morphology

cuss + at

The verb 'cuss' means to use swear words and the preposition 'at' marks the target of the action, so 'cuss at' straightforwardly combines to mean 'to swear at someone/something.' This is a standard verb + preposition composition found across languages and follows predictable syntactic semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Cuss at comes from the old verb cuss, a spoken form of 'curse' that meant calling bad luck or harm on someone. Imagine throwing angry words at a person—when you cuss at them you send swear words their way, so it now means 'to swear at' someone.