KISSING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does kissing mean? 

• KISSING (noun)
  The noun KISSING has 1 sense:

1. affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)

  Familiarity information: KISSING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KISSING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Affectionate play (or foreplay without contact with the genital organs)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

caressing; cuddling; fondling; hugging; kissing; necking; petting; smooching; snuggling

Hypernyms ("kissing" is a kind of...):

arousal; foreplay; stimulation (mutual sexual fondling prior to sexual intercourse)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "kissing"):

snogging ((British informal) cuddle and kiss)

Derivation:

kiss (touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.)

 Context examples 

This syndrome, also known as “mono” or the “kissing disease,” generally resolves with rest and only rarely causes serious complications.

(Epstein-Barr virus protein can “switch on” risk genes for autoimmune diseases, National Institutes of Health)

Then she raised her head proudly, and held out one hand to Van Helsing who took it in his, and, after stooping and kissing it reverently, held it fast.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“No, not a syllable!” she answers, kissing me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

"We are women together," her mother said, drawing her to her and kissing her.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The virus spreads through saliva, which is why it's sometimes called "kissing disease."

(Infectious Mononucleosis, NIH)

"And now?" softly kissing my forehead and cheek.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"What worries you dear? Has anything dreadful happened?" asked the anxious John, tenderly kissing the crown of the little cap, which was all askew.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

But she hugged the soft, stuffed body of the Scarecrow in her arms instead of kissing his painted face, and found she was crying herself at this sorrowful parting from her loving comrades.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

“Good even to you, comrades! Hola! a woman, by my soul!” and in an instant he had clipped Dame Eliza round the waist and was kissing her violently.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I fell on my knees, and begged the honour of kissing her imperial foot; but this gracious princess held out her little finger towards me, after I was set on the table, which I embraced in both my arms, and put the tip of it with the utmost respect to my lip.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)