Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pain in the ass

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.71 in modern English

Syllables: pain in the ass
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

1

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Something or someone that causes discomfort, frustration, or annoyance.

Canadian usage; American usage; Countable; Slang; Uncountable

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pain, in, the, ass.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Strangely enough, the days I spent at this pain-in-the-ass job were some of my most memorable and valuable."
"His one obligation is that, every day, he must gather $10,000 worth of items from the store – stuff he doesn’t need: electronics, nappies, pet food and so forth – and exchange them for the cash. This is both an acute pain in the ass, and the one thing that prevents him from going insane with boredom. )"

Etymology

Dysphemistically modelled after pain in the neck. First attested in the early to mid-20th century.

Origin

First known use: First attested in the early to mid-20th century

Usage

Inflected Forms

pains in the ass (plural)

Phrases

royal pain

Frequently Paired Words

royal pain pygalgia proctalgia coccydynia pain in one's ass pain in the arse pain in one's arse PITA

Synonyms

pain in the back pain in the backside pain in the bum pain in the butt pain in the keister pain in the neck pain in the rear pain in the dick assache pill

Questions

What does pain in the ass mean?: Something or someone that causes discomfort, frustration, or annoyance.
Where does pain in the ass come from?: First known use: First attested in the early to mid-20th century.

How to pronounce pain in the ass

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