psst

• pst
• pssst (elongated)

Imitative of the similar sounds people use to call animals, such as cats.

• IPA^(key): /psː(t)/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: psst

psst

1. (onomatopoeia) Used to call animals.
2. (onomatopoeia) Used to request silence.

   Synonym: shh

4. (onomatopoeia) Used to imply that the speaker is sending secret or whispered information to another person.

   Synonyms: hist; see also Thesaurus:hey

   Psst, John, don’t tell anyone, but I’ve got lots of candy stashed away.

5. (onomatopoeia) Imitating a spray.

psst (third-person singular simple present pssts, present participle pssting, simple past and past participle pssted)

1. (informal) To say psst, to get someone's attention or to communicate with them.
   • 2015, Dale Peck, The Garden of Lost and Found‎^[1]:

     and I was just rounding the fourth-floor landing when Claudia pssted at me

• SPST, STPs, TPS's, tsps

• pst

Onomatopoeic

• IPA^(key): /ˈps(ː)t/, [ˈps̠(ː)t̪]
• Syllabification^(key): psst
• Hyphenation^(key): psst

psst

2. (onomatopoeia) psst! (implying secrecy)

Imitative.

• IPA^(key): /psːt/, [psːt]

psst

2. (onomatopoeia) psst! (implying secrecy)

• “psst”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026