fuss

[fuhs]
noun
1.
an excessive display of anxious attention or activity; needless or useless bustle: They made a fuss over the new baby.
2.
an argument or noisy dispute: They had a fuss about who should wash dishes.
3.
a complaint or protest, especially about something relatively unimportant.
verb (used without object)
4.
to make a fuss; make much ado about trifles: You'll never finish the job if you fuss over details.
5.
to complain especially about something relatively unimportant.
00:10
Fuss is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to flee; abscond:
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
verb (used with object)
6.
to disturb, especially with trifles; annoy; bother.

Origin:
1695–1705; origin uncertain

fuss·er, noun
un·fussed, adjective
un·fuss·ing, adjective


1. pother, to-do, stir, commotion. 6. pester.


1. inactivity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
fuss (fʌs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  nervous activity or agitation, esp when disproportionate or unnecessary
2.  complaint or objection: he made a fuss over the bill
3.  an exhibition of affection or admiration, esp if excessive: they made a great fuss over the new baby
4.  a quarrel; dispute
 
vb (when intr, usually foll by over) (foll by with)
5.  (intr) to worry unnecessarily
6.  (intr) to be excessively concerned over trifles
7.  to show great or excessive concern, affection, etc (for)
8.  (Jamaican) to quarrel violently
9.  (tr) to bother (a person)
 
[C18: of uncertain origin]
 
'fusser
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fuss
1701, perhaps an alteration of force, or imitative of bubbling or sputtering sounds, or from Dan. fjas "foolery, nonsense." First attested in Anglo-Irish writers, but no obvious connections to Irish. The verb is first attested 1792, from the noun. Related: Fussed; fussing. To make a fuss was earlier
to keep a fuss (1726).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

fuss

In addition to the idiom beginning with fuss, also see kick up a fuss; make a fuss.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
All that fuss about hoked-up memoirs and not a word about the put-ons of
  personal essayists-it doesn't make sense.
The veterans of such affairs have settled down contentedly in their quarters
  and given up making any further fuss about matters.
There's a lot of fuss made of wind turbines being an eyesore for people.
People will be excused to wonder what all the fuss about fractal spacetime is.
Idioms & Phrases
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