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fuss

[fuhs]

Example Sentences Origin

noun

an excessive display of anxious attention or activity; needless or useless bustle: They made a fuss over the new baby.

an argument or noisy dispute: They had a fuss about who should wash dishes.

a complaint or protest, especially about something relatively unimportant.

verb (used without object)

to make a fuss; make much ado about trifles: You'll never finish the job if you fuss over details.

to complain especially about something relatively unimportant.

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Fuss is one of our favorite verbs.

So is fletcherise. Does it mean:

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

chat, to converse

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verb (used with object)

to disturb, especially with trifles; annoy; bother.

Origin:
1695–1705; origin uncertain

Related forms

fuss·er, noun

un·fussed, adjective

un·fuss·ing, adjective

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

Antonyms
1. inactivity.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To fuss

Example Sentences

Here was someone who knew when not to respond or make a fuss.

They were said to have been threatened with reprisals if they made a fuss.

But the public rarely gets outraged and the fuss never lasts for long.

EXPAND

Here was someone who knew when not to respond or make a fuss.

They were said to have been threatened with reprisals if they made a fuss.

But the public rarely gets outraged and the fuss never lasts for long.

There's a lot of fuss made of wind turbines being an eyesore for people.

Traditionally, the custodians of heritage have been leery of making too much fuss over thefts.

Seeds germinate quickly and plants grow with little fuss.

And consumers will wonder what the fuss was all about.

And don't make a huge fuss out of every little mistake reporters might make.

Even when one of their own dies, there is not a lot of fuss.

Deprived of the protection and comfort of their mother's body, babies start to fuss.

The fuss to derail the concept seems a little harsh.

You'll have a seafood feast with minimal fuss for the host.

Google is not making much of a fuss over the matter.

All that fuss about hoked-up memoirs and not a word about the put-ons of personal essayists-it doesn't make sense.

For instance, it's possible several powerful hurricanes could make a fuss out at sea without ever making landfall.

Fuss all you want, but the data isn't actually debatable.

It allows me to dive into my talk with a minimum of fuss.

Montelongo offers to show me what all the fuss was about.

He couldn't understand all the media fuss about the expedition's success.

And some other blind students don't get all the fuss.

Paul and pulled out samples of what all the fuss was about.

The fuss with all confusion lies in the theoretical work.

Images have become a matter of ho-hum, what's the fuss.

Their gay friends thought nothing of it and made no fuss.

True, when the bills start coming due, he'll probably raise a fuss.

People will be excused to wonder what all the fuss about fractal spacetime is.

Good teachers know how to point out the virtues in the best work without making a fuss over it.

So you can see for yourself what the fuss is all about.

When you look at the picture, you'll wonder what all the fuss is about.

The fuss over last week's small snowstorm wasn't only, or even mostly, about snow.

Like that some politicians cannot resist making a big fuss over a little.

Politicians ignore the current fuss at their peril.

There's been considerably more of a fuss over proposals to limit the use of snowmobiles in the park.

Just imagine the fuss about something as important as health.

But it is hard to understand the fuss about the recordings themselves.

Make beautiful cookies even if you don't have time to fuss.

But casual sci-fi viewers might not get what all the fuss is about.

Eye shadows in pencil form can save some fuss in perking up your eyes.

Most of the fuss has been about reciprocity-or the lack of.

With all that fuss involved, only those with a staff of servants would venture to serve the stuff at a social function.

Now you can find out what the fuss is about without spending a cent.

So when the real thing began being imported three weeks ago, there wasn't much fuss about it.

It seems weird to outsiders that there is such a fuss among.

But minority investors kicked up such a fuss that the plan had to be dropped.

They fuss with final adjustments before the judges flip the switch.

The veterans of such affairs have settled down contentedly in their quarters and given up making any further fuss about matters.

Playing with bricks is said to enhance motor skills, creativity and other things that grown-ups fuss about.

It is not unusual for politicians to make a fuss about immigration in the months before a general election.

Darwinians make obviosly a great fuss regarding their peer-reviewed journals.

But if you find some reasonable and probable explanations, then there's no much point in making a big fuss of.

It may seem paradoxical, but even people who voted against you may want to help you leave without fuss and rancor.

All this fuss suggests, not that bosses are growing more horrible, but that employees expect them to be more agreeable.

Maybe so, but an awful lot of biologists certainly do seem to be making an awul lot of fuss about them.

Basically, it allows you to build models with little programming fuss.

Most of the fuss concerns three rule changes in particular.

And on the table right before her is a prime example of what all the fuss is about: a software patent.

Countries left the gold standard in wartime without much fuss and discovered they could do the same in peacetime.

No local politician or foreign government has kicked up a fuss.

Such a major engineering project will certainly cause a lot of disruption and fuss.

Today it is hard to imagine what the fuss was about.

The recent drought-breaking floods have only emboldened some farmers to demand what all the fuss is about.

Rather, the summer has seen a supply shock of the sort that food markets are supposed to be able to absorb without fuss.

It simply switches on and runs with the minimum of fuss.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

fuss (fʌs)

—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
Cite This Source

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

EXPAND

to keep a fuss (1726).

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

fuss

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

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