Pee

Pee

Verb / Noun · /piː/

Definition

(Verb, informal) to urinate. (Noun, informal) an act of urination; also urine itself. A very common informal word across British and American English, considered mildly impolite but not strongly offensive — appropriate in casual speech and informal writing but not in clinical, formal, or professional contexts.

Origin

From the initial letter P of piss — a euphemistic initial-letter abbreviation, a common technique in English for softening taboo words (cf. eff for the f-word, bee for the b-word). Piss itself from Old French pissier, from Vulgar Latin *pissare, probably of imitative origin. The initial-letter euphemism pee appearing in English from the eighteenth century, and becoming one of the most universally accepted mild informals for the concept in contemporary British and American English.