Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: ærs, ears

arse

1 noun
     
arse1 [countable] British English spoken not polite
1 the part of your body that you sit on [= ass American English]
2 a stupid and annoying person
3

my arse!

used to say that you do not believe something
4

get off your arse

used to tell someone to stop being lazy and start doing something
5

shift/move your arse

or

get your arse into gear

used to tell someone to hurry up
6

not know your arse from your elbow

to be stupid and confused about simple things
➔ ass

; ➔ be a pain in the arse

at pain1 (3), smart arse

; ➔ work your arse off

at work1 (30)
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary