Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

steups

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: ste-ups
IPA

8

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The sound made by sucking one's teeth.

verb

To suck one's teeth, indicating disappointment, derision or disgust.

Example Sentences

"A loud steups followed."
"He thought he heard a loud steups somewhere from the dark."
"When my mother heard this she let out a loud steups but said nothing."
"‘Here?’ Petronella steups. ‘Where you think here is?’"

Etymology

Imitative of the act of sucking one's teeth as a gesture of annoyance or disapproval. Native to the English-speaking West Indies, e.g. Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago etc. In Jamaica, the term "kissing teeth" is used instead.

Inflected Forms

steupses (plural) stewps (alternative) chupes (alternative) chupse (alternative) cheups (alternative) steupse (alternative) steupses (present, singular) steupsing (participle, present) steupsed (participle, past) steupsed (past)

Frequently Paired Words

hiss shush

Synonyms

kiss one's teeth suck one's teeth

Questions

What does steups mean?: The sound made by sucking one's teeth.
Where does steups come from?: Imitative of the act of sucking one's teeth as a gesture of annoyance or disapproval. Native to the English-speaking West Indies, e.g. Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago etc. In Jamaica, the term "kissing teeth" is used instead.

How to pronounce steups

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “steups”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “steups” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.