See also: sūds, Süds, SUDs, and SUDS

English

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Etymology

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From the plural of sud, a variant of sod (a bubbling or boiling), equivalent to sud +‎ -s. Related to seethe.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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suds pl (normally plural, singular sud)

  1. (countable, uncountable) Lather; foam or froth formed by mixing soap and water.
    • 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 30:
      Mrs Durbeyfield, excited by her song, trod the rocker with all the spring that was left in her after a long day's seething in the suds.
  2. (slang) Beer.
    We went out for some pizza and suds.

Usage notes

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  • Sometimes treated as uncountable ("too much suds") and sometimes as plural ("too many suds").

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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suds (third-person singular simple present sudses, present participle sudsing, simple past and past participle sudsed)

  1. (transitive) To cover with, or as if with, soapsuds.
    We sudsed the car before washing it down until it gleamed like new.