''Fuck'' () is
profanity
Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...
in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
that often refers to the act of
sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...
, but is also commonly used as an
intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to around 1475. In modern usage, the term ''fuck'' and its
derivatives (such as ''fucker'' and ''fucking'') are used as a
noun
In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...
, a
verb
A verb is a word that generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual description of English, the basic f ...
, an
adjective
An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...
, an
infix
An infix is an affix inserted inside a word stem (an existing word or the core of a family of words). It contrasts with '' adfix,'' a rare term for an affix attached to the outside of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix.
When marking text for ...
, an
interjection
An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. It is a diverse category, with many different types, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curses (''da ...
or an
adverb An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a determiner, a clause, a preposition, or a sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, or level of certainty by ...
. There are many common phrases that employ the word as well as
compounds that incorporate it, such as ''
motherfucker'' and ''
fuck off''.
Offensiveness
It is unclear whether the word has always been considered a
pejorative
A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...
or, if not, when it first came to be used to describe (often in an extremely angry, hostile, or belligerent manner) unpleasant circumstances or people in an intentionally offensive way, such as in the term ''
motherfucker'', one of its more common usages in some parts of the
English-speaking world
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...
. Some English-speaking countries censor it on television and radio. Andrea Millwood Hargrave's 2000 study of the attitudes of the British public found that ''fuck'' was considered the third-most-severe profanity, and its derivative ''motherfucker'' second. ''
Cunt
"Cunt" () is a vulgar word for the vulva in its primary sense, and it is used in a variety of ways, including as a term of disparagement. "Cunt" is often used as a disparaging and obscene term for a woman in the United States, an unpleas ...
'' was considered the most severe.
Nevertheless, the word has increasingly become less of a pejorative and more publicly acceptable, an example of the "
dysphemism treadmill" or
semantic drift known as ''melioration,'' wherein former
pejoratives
A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility ...
become inoffensive and commonplace. Because of its increasing usage in the public forum, in 2005 the word was included for the first time as one of three vulgarities in
The Canadian Press
The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a privately-held company, pr ...
's ''Canadian Press Caps and Spelling'' guide. Journalists were advised to refrain from censoring the word but use it sparingly and only when its inclusion was essential to the story.
According to linguist Pamela Hobbs, "notwithstanding its increasing public use, enduring cultural models that inform our beliefs about the nature of sexuality and sexual acts preserve its status as a vile utterance that continues to inspire moral outrage." Hobbs considers users rather than usage of the word and sub-divides users into "non-users", for whom "the word belongs to a set of taboo words, the very utterance of which constitutes an affront, and any use of the word, regardless of its form (verb, adjective, adverb, etc.) or meaning (literal or metaphorical) evokes the core sexual meanings and associated sexual imagery that motivate the taboo"; and "users", for whom "metaphorical uses of the word ''fuck'' no more evoke images of sexual intercourse than does a ten-year-old's 'My mom'll kill me if she finds out' evokes images of murder" so that the "criteria of taboo are missing."
Etymology
Germanic cognates
The ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'' states that the ultimate etymology is uncertain, but that the word is "probably cognate" with a number of
Germanic words with meanings involving striking, rubbing and having sex or is derivative of the
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...
word that meant 'to have sex'.
["Fuck." ''OED Online''. Draft Revision, June 2008. Oxford University Press. Accessed August 26, 200]
OED.com
http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/previous-updates/march-2008-update/
The word has probable
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language.
Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
s in other Germanic languages, such as German ('to fuck');
Dutch ('to breed', 'to beget'); Afrikaans ''fok'' ('to fuck');
Icelandic ''fokka'' ('to mess around', 'to rush');
dialectal
Norwegian ('to copulate'); and dialectal
Swedish ('to strike', 'to copulate') and ('
penis
A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate.
The term ''pen ...
').
This points to a possible etymology where
Common Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bra ...
''*fuk(k)ōn-''from the verbal root ''*fug-'' ('to blow')
comes from an
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
root ''*peuk-'', or ''*peuĝ-'' ('to strike'), cognate with non-Germanic words such as Latin ('I fight') or ('fist').
By application of
Grimm's law
Grimm's law, also known as the First Germanic Consonant Shift or First Germanic Sound Shift, is a set of sound laws describing the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) stop consonants as they developed in Proto-Germanic in the first millennium BC, first d ...
, this hypothetical root also has the Pre-Germanic form *''pug-néh
2-'' (
'to blow'),
which is the etymon of, amongst others, Dutch ''fok(zeil)'' ('foresail'). There is a theory that ''fuck'' is most likely derived from German or Dutch roots, and is probably not derived from an Old English root.
False etymologies
One reason that the word ''fuck'' is difficult to trace etymologically is that it was used far more extensively in common speech, rather than in easily traceable documents or writings. There exist multiple
urban legends that advance
false etymologies, including the word allegedly being an
acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
. One of these urban legends is that the word ''fuck'' originated in Irish law. If a couple was caught committing
adultery, the two would be punished "For Unlawful
Carnal Knowledge In the Nude", with "''FUCKIN"'' written on the
stocks
Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...
above to denote the crime. A variant of this legend alleges church clerks to have recorded the crime of "Forbidden Use of Carnal Knowledge". Another legend places the origin on a royal permission allegedly granted during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Due to the
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
and the consequent scarcity of resources, villages and towns supposedly attempted to control population growth by requiring permission to engage in intercourse. Royal permission (usually from a local magistrate or lord) is said to have required placing a sign visible from the road reading: "''
Fornicating/Fornication Under Consent of King",'' later shortened to ''FUCK''. This story is not supported by written evidence, and has been proven false, but has persisted in oral and literary traditions for many years.
Another legendary etymology, first made popular by the
American radio show ''
Car Talk,'' says that the phrase ''fuck you'' derives from ''pluck yew'' in connection with a misconception regarding the
origins of the V sign. This misconception states that English archers believed that those who were captured by the French had their index and middle fingers cut off so that they could no longer operate their
longbows, and that the V sign was used by uncaptured and victorious archers in a display of defiance against the French. The addition of the phrase ''fuck you'' to the misconception came when it was claimed that the English yelled that they could still ''pluck yew'', (
yew wood being the preferred material for longbows at the time), a phrase that evolved into the modern ''fuck you''.
In any event, the word ''fuck'' has been in use far too long for some of these supposed origins to be possible. Since no such acronym was ever recorded before the 1960s according to the
lexicographical work ''
The F-Word'', such claims create at best a so-called "
backronym
A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...
".
Grammar
In terms of its parts of speech, ''fuck'' has a very flexible role in English grammar, functioning as both a
transitive and
intransitive verb, and as an
adjective
An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...
,
adverb An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a determiner, a clause, a preposition, or a sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, or level of certainty by ...
,
noun
In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...
, and
interjection
An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. It is a diverse category, with many different types, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curses (''da ...
.

Although the word itself is used in its literal sense to refer to sexual intercourse, its most common usage is figurative—to indicate the speaker's strong sentiment and to offend or shock the listener.
Linguist Geoffrey Hughes found eight distinct usages for English curse words, and ''fuck'' can apply to each. For example, it fits in the "curse" sense (''fuck you!''), as well as the "personal" sense (''You fucker'').
In the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'', more than a hundred different senses, usages and
collocations (like ''fuck around, fuck with s.o., fuck you, fuck me, fuck it'') are identified for ''fuck,'' its derived forms (like ''fucker, fuckee, fuckability''), and
compounds with ''fuck'' (e.g. ''fuckfest, fuckhole, fuckface'').
Early usage
In 2015,
Paul Booth argued he had found "(possibly) the earliest known use of the word 'fuck' that clearly has a sexual connotation": in English court records of 1310–11, a man local to
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
is referred to as "Roger Fuckebythenavele", probably a nickname. "Either this refers to an inexperienced copulator, referring to someone trying to have sex with the navel, or it's a rather extravagant explanation for a dimwit, someone so stupid they think that this is the way to have sex", says Booth. An earlier name, that of
John le Fucker recorded in 1278, has been the subject of debate, but is thought by many
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
s to have had some separate and non-sexual origin.
Otherwise, the usually accepted first known occurrence of the word is found in
code
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...
in a poem in a mixture of
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and English composed in the 15th century. The poem, which satirizes the
Carmelite friars of
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, England, takes its title, "
Flen flyys", from the first words of its opening line, ''Flen, flyys, and freris'' ('Fleas, flies, and friars'). The line that contains ''fuck'' reads ''Non sunt in coeli, quia gxddbov xxkxzt pg ifmk''.
Deciphering the phrase ''gxddbou xxkxzt pg ifmk'', here by replacing each letter by the previous letter in
alphabetical order
Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is ...
, as the English alphabet was then, yields the
macaronic ''non sunt in coeli, quia fuccant vvivys of heli'', which translated means, 'They are not in heaven, because they fuck the women of
Ely'. The phrase was probably encoded because it accused monks of breaking their vows of celibacy;
it is uncertain to what extent the word ''fuck'' was considered acceptable at the time. The stem of ''fuccant'' is an
English word used as Latin.
In the
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
of this poem, the term ''wife'' was still used generically for 'woman'.
William Dunbar's 1503 poem "Brash of Wowing" includes the lines: "Yit be his feiris he wald haue fukkit: / Ye brek my hairt, my bony ane" (ll. 13–14).
The oldest known occurrence of the word in adjectival form (which implies use of the verb) in English comes from the margins of a 1528 manuscript copy of
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
's ''
De Officiis''. A monk had scrawled in the margin notes, "fuckin Abbot". Whether the monk meant the word literally, to accuse this abbot of "questionable monastic morals", or whether he used it "as an intensifier, to convey his extreme dismay" is unclear.
John Florio's 1598 Italian–English dictionary, ''A Worlde of Wordes'', included the term, along with several now-archaic, but then-vulgar synonyms, in this definition:
* Fottere: ''To jape, to sard, to fucke, to swive, to occupy.''
Of these, "occupy" and "jape" still survive as verbs, though with less profane meanings, while "sard" was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon verb ''seordan'' (or ''seorðan'',
ON ''serða''), to copulate; and "swive" had derived from earlier ''swīfan'', to revolve i.e. to swivel (compare modern-day "screw"). As late as the 18th century, the verb ''occupy'' was seldom used in print because it carried sexual overtones.
A 1790 poem by
St. George Tucker has a father upset with his bookish son say "I'd not give
fuckfor all you've read". Originally printed as "I'd not give ------ for all you've read", scholars agree that the words ''a fuck'' were removed, making the poem the first recorded instance of the now-common phrase ''I don't give a fuck''.
Farmer and Henley's 1893 dictionary of slang notes both the adverbial and adjectival forms of ''fuck'' as similar to but "more violent" than ''bloody'' and indicating extreme insult, respectively.
According to an article in the journal ''
Science'', research shows that when humans switched to processed foods after the spread of agriculture, they put less wear and tear on their teeth, leading to an overbite in adults. This overbite is said to make it easier to produce "f" and "v" sounds, and humorously, cleared the way for words like "Fuck".
Modern usage
The modern usage and flexibility of ''fuck'' was established by the mid-to-late 19th century, and has been fairly stable since.
Most literally, to ''fuck'' is to have sex, but it is also used as a more general
expletive or intensifier.
Insertion of the
trochaic word ''fucking'' can also be used as an exercise for diagnosing the
cadence of an English-language word. This is the use of ''fuck'' or more specifically ''fucking'' as an
infix
An infix is an affix inserted inside a word stem (an existing word or the core of a family of words). It contrasts with '' adfix,'' a rare term for an affix attached to the outside of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix.
When marking text for ...
, or more properly, a
tmesis (see
expletive infixation). For example, the word ''in-fucking-credible'' sounds acceptable to the English ear, and is in fairly common use, while *''incred-fucking-ible'' would sound very clumsy (though, depending on the context, this might be perceived as a humorous
improvisation
Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
of the word). ''Abso-fucking-lutely'' and ''motherfucking'' are also common uses of ''fuck'' as an
affix
In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. The main two categories are Morphological derivation, derivational and inflectional affixes. Derivational affixes, such as ''un-'', ''-ation' ...
.
While neither dysphemistic nor connected to the sexual connotations of the word, even the vacuous usages are considered offensive and gratuitous, such as ''This is fucking awesome!''
''Fuck'' has colloquial usage as a
verb
A verb is a word that generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual description of English, the basic f ...
,
adverb An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a determiner, a clause, a preposition, or a sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, or level of certainty by ...
,
adjective
An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...
,
conjunction,
interjection
An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. It is a diverse category, with many different types, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curses (''da ...
,
noun
In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...
, and
pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun (Interlinear gloss, glossed ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase.
Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the part of speech, parts of speech, but so ...
.

The word ''fuck'' is a component of many acronyms, some of which—like
SNAFU
SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression "Situation normal: all fucked up". It is a well-known example of military slang, military acronym slang. It is sometimes censored to "all fouled up" or similar. It me ...
(Situation Normal: All Fucked Up) and
FUBAR
Military slang is a colloquial language used by and associated with members of various military forces. This page lists slang words or phrases that originate with military forces, are used exclusively by military personnel or are strongly associa ...
(Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition)—date as far back as
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
MILF (Mother I'd Like to Fuck) and variations of the first letter are widely seen in pornographic contexts.
Many more recent coinages, such as the shorthand ''
WTF?'' for '
what the fuck',
''STFU'' for '
shut the fuck up',
or ''FML'' for 'fuck my life',
have been widely extant on the Internet, and may count as examples of
internet meme
An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
s. Many acronyms will also have an ''F'' or ''MF'' added to increase emphasis; for example, ''OMG'' ('
oh my God') becomes ''OMFG'' ('oh my fucking God'). Abbreviations involving ''fuck'' can be considered less offensive than ''fuck'' itself. Although the word is proclaimed vulgar, several comedians rely on ''fuck'' for comedic routines.
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...
created several literary works based upon the word, including his routine "
seven dirty words"—words that were
bleep censor
A bleep censor is the replacement of profanity and classified information with a beep (sound), beep sound (usually a ), used in public television, radio and social media.
History
Bleeping has been used as a standard since 1998 as a means of Censo ...
ed on US television.
"Fuck all" is a widely recognised expression meaning "None, or very little".
Examples of more recent usage
In 1928, English writer
D. H. Lawrence's novel ''
Lady Chatterley's Lover'' gained notoriety for its frequent use of the words ''fuck'' and ''fucking''. ''
The Catcher in the Rye'' by
J. D. Salinger featured the use of ''fuck you'' in print. First published in the United States in 1951, the novel remains controversial to this day due in part to its use of the word, standing at number 13 for the most banned books from 1990 to 2000 according to the American Library Association.
The first documented use of the word ''fuck'' on live British television has been attributed to theatre critic
Kenneth Tynan in 1965, though it has been claimed Irish playwright
Brendan Behan used the word on
''Panorama'' in 1956 or the man who painted the railings on Stranmillis Embankment alongside the River Lagan in Belfast, who in 1959 told Ulster TV's teatime magazine programme ''Roundabout'' that his job was "fucking boring". The
Bill Grundy incident was a controversy that ensued in 1976 when ''Today'' host
Bill Grundy interviewed the
Sex Pistols, after guitarist
Steve Jones called Grundy a "dirty fucker" and a "fucking rotter".
The word began to break into cinema when it was uttered once in the film ''Vapor'' (1963) and in two Andy Warhol films – ''Poor Little Rich Girl'' (1965) and ''My Hustler'' (1965), and later in each of two 1967 British releases, ''
Ulysses'' and ''
I'll Never Forget What's'isname''. It was used several times in the 1969 British film ''
Bronco Bullfrog''. According to director
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...
, the first time the word ''fuck'' was used in a major American studio film was in 1970's ''
M*A*S*H'', spoken by Painless during the football match at the end of the film.
Use in politics
''Fuck'' is not widely used in politics, and the use of the word by politicians often produces controversy. Some events include:
* In 1965, US President
Lyndon B. Johnson said to the Greek ambassador
Alexandros Matsas when he objected to American plans in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, "Fuck your parliament and your constitution. America is an elephant. Cyprus is a flea. Greece is a flea. If these two fellows continue itching the elephant they may just get whacked by the elephant's trunk, whacked good".
* Former British
Secretary of State for Defence Denis Healey reported that the penultimate
High Commissioner of Aden (1965–1967),
Sir Richard Turnbull, stated that, "When the British Empire finally sinks beneath the waves of history, it will leave behind it only two memorials: one is the game of Association Football and the other is the expression 'Fuck Off'."
* During debate in February 1971 in the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
, Canadian Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...
mouthed the words "fuck off" at
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MP John Lundrigan, while Lundrigan made some comments about unemployment. Afterward, when asked by a television reporter what he had been thinking, Trudeau famously replied: "What is the nature of your thoughts, gentlemen, when you say '
fuddle duddle' or something like that?". "Fuddle duddle" consequently became a
catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
in Canadian media associated with Trudeau.
* The first accepted modern use in the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...
came in 1982 when
Reg Race,
Labour MP for
Wood Green, referred to adverts placed in local newsagents by prostitutes which read "Phone them and fuck them." ''
Hansard
''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...
'', the full record of debates, printed "F*** them", but even this euphemism was deprecated by the
Speaker,
George Thomas.
* During the George W. Bush presidency, a vehicular bumper sticker with the words ''Buck Fush'' (a
spoonerism of "Fuck Bush") gained some popularity in the US.
* In June 2004, US Vice President
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...
told
Democratic senator
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy ( ; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who represented Vermont in the United States Senate from 1975 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he also was the pr ...
, "Go fuck yourself." Coincidentally, Cheney's outburst occurred on the same day that the Defense of Decency Act was passed in the Senate.
* In February 2006
Morris Iemma,
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
of the
Australian state
The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...
of
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, while awaiting the start of a
Council of Australian Governments media conference in
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, was chatting to
Victorian Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Steve Bracks. Not realizing microphones were recording, he said, "Today? This fuckwit who's the new CEO of the
Cross City Tunnel has ... been saying what controversy? There is no controversy." The exchange referred to the newly appointed CEO of the recently opened Cross City Tunnel toll road within Sydney.
* In 2007,
U.S. Senator John Cornyn objected to
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
's perceived intrusion upon a Senate meeting on immigration, saying, "Wait a second here. I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line." McCain replied "Fuck you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room."
* In April 2007,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
Education Minister
Steve Maharey said "fuck you" to
a fellow MP during parliamentary question time. He apologized shortly afterwards.
* In December 2008, recorded telephone conversations revealed Illinois Governor
Rod Blagojevich trying to "sell" an appointment to the Senate seat that
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
resigned after being elected president. In the phone conversation, Blagojevich said in reference to his power to appoint a new senator, "I've got this thing and it's fucking golden and I'm just not giving it up for fuckin' nothing." In the recorded conversations, Blagojevich also referred to Obama as a "motherfucker" and repeatedly said, "fuck him". When speaking of the Obama administration's request that
Valerie Jarrett be appointed as Obama's replacement, Blagojevich complained, "They're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck them." Blagojevich also said
Tribune Company ownership should be told to "fire those fuckers" in reference to ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' editors critical of him.
* In December 2009 in
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
(the lower house of the Irish Parliament),
Paul Gogarty responded to heckles from
Emmet Stagg with the outburst, "With all due respect, in the most
unparliamentary language, fuck you, Deputy Stagg. Fuck you."
Gogarty immediately withdrew the remarks and later made a personal statement of apology.
Reporting of the outburst quickly spread by media and the Internet.
A subcommittee of the Dáil's
standing committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
on procedure and privilege produced a 28-page report on the incident.
* On March 23, 2010,
US Vice President Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
whispered into President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's ear, "This is a big fucking deal" when referring to the US health care reform bill. His words were picked up by microphones and video.
* On May 3, 2010, Canadian senator
Nancy Ruth
Nancy Ruth Rowell Jackman (born January 6, 1942) is a Canadian heiress, activist, philanthropist and former Canadian senator. Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed her to the Senate on March 24, 2005. While initially appointed as a Progressiv ...
advised representatives of women's groups to "shut the fuck up" on access to abortion, in the run-up to the
36th G8 summit.
* In late 2012, the then-
US House Speaker John Boehner was visiting the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
, where he saw then
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the lobby. Boehner was under great stress about the impending
fiscal cliff, and Reid had also accused him of running a "dictatorship" in the house. Boehner saw Harry Reid, pointed his finger at him, and told him, "Go fuck yourself!" Reid replied by saying, "What are you talking about?" Boehner then repeated what he had told him and left.
* In late 2016, Philippine President
Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...
reacted to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
's criticism over the prevalence of unsolved extrajudicial killings which occurred during his "
War on Drugs" by lashing out at EU politicians, claiming that they were "hypocrites" whose colonial-era ancestors had killed "thousands" of Arabs and other peoples during the colonial period. Upon making an
obscene hand gesture, Duterte stated that he told EU politicians, "When I read the EU condemnation I told them 'fuck you.' You are only doing it to atone for your own sins" and "They do not want a safe Philippines. They want it to be ruled by criminals. Oh, well, I'm sorry. That is your idiotic view". Duterte also said, in response to growing international criticism, the "EU now has the gall to condemn me. I repeat it, fuck you."
* On June 10, 2018,
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...
sparked controversy during the
72nd Tony Awards as he cursed US President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
with the word during the live broadcast. He started with the sentence: "I'm gonna say one thing: Fuck Trump." He clenched his two fists in the air, and ended his remarks by saying "It's no longer down with Trump, it's fuck Trump!" He received a standing ovation from the audience, which was mostly celebrities.
*On August 5, 2019, Beto O'Rourke after learning of 2019 El Paso shooting, a mass shooting in his home town of El Paso, Texas stated "He's been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. I don't know, like, members of the press, what the fuck?" referring to Donald Trump when asked for his reaction to the shooting.
*During a virtual live telecast Senate hearing on August 21, 2020, Senator Tom Carper shouted: "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" over a video chat that was being broadcast nationwide.
* During his October 9, 2020 appearance on ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', US President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
stated in a threat to Iran, "If you fuck around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before."
* In 2021, "Let's Go Brandon" became a political slogan and
internet meme
An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
used as a euphemism for "Fuck
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
", the president of the United States.
* In 2022, President Joe Biden said to the mayor of Fort Myers Beach, Florida, "No one fucks with a Biden," to which Mayor Ray Murphey responded, "Yeah, you're goddamn right."
* On June 28, 2023, Wisconsin state senator La Tonya Johnson proclaimed mid session on the senate floor, "Fuck the suburbs, because they don't know a goddamn thing about how life is in the city."
Use in marketing
In April 1997, clothing retailer French Connection (clothing), French Connection began branding their clothes with ''fcuk'' (usually written in lowercase), stating it was an
acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
for "French Connection United Kingdom". Its similarity to the word ''fuck'' caused controversy. French Connection produced a range of T-shirts with messages such as "fcuk this", "hot as fcuk", "cool as fcuk", "fcuk fashion", etc.
In 2009, the European Union's OHIM trade marks agency disallowed a German brewery to market a beer called "Fucking Hell". The brewery sued, and on March 26, 2010 got permission to market the beer. The company argued that it was actually named after the Austrian village of Fucking (now spelled Fugging, Upper Austria, Fugging) and the German term for light beer, ''hell'' (which is simply the word for "light-coloured").
''Iancu v. Brunetti'' is a United States Supreme Court case in which the owner of the clothing brand FUCT (clothing), FUCT (supposedly standing for "Friends U Can't Trust") sued the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent and Trademark Office, which refused to trademark the name for being "scandalous" under the Lanham Act. The Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that a provision in of the Act, denying registration to any trademarks seen as consisting of immoral or scandalous matter, was an unconstitutional restriction of applicants' freedom of speech (United States), freedom of speech.
Band names
The word ''fuck'' has been used in a number of band names, such as Fucked Up, generally based on common compounds. Many of these bands fall into the genres of Punk rock, punk and Heavy metal music, metal, while some fall into the categories of electronic rock and pop, such as Holy Fuck
and Fuck Buttons
''F-bomb''
The phrase ''dropping an F-bomb'' usually refers to the unanticipated use of the word ''fuck'' in an unexpected setting, such as public media, a play on the nickname for the hydrogen bomb (the "H-bomb")
and the shock value that using the word ''fuck'' in discourse carries. The term was first reported in a newspaper (''Newsday'') in 1988 when Hall of Fame baseball catcher Gary Carter used it. In 2012 it was listed, for the first time, in the mainstream ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary''.
Censorship
In the United States, the word is frequently edited out of music and films when broadcast on TV, such as in the film ''The Big Lebowski'', when John Goodman's character repeatedly yells, "This is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass". It was censored on television as "This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps."
Still, in 1971, the United States Supreme Court, US Supreme Court decided that the public display of ''fuck'' is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourteenth amendments and cannot be made a criminal offense. In 1968, Paul Robert Cohen had been convicted of Breach of the peace, disturbing the peace for wearing a jacket with the slogan "Fuck the Draft" (in a reference to conscription in the Vietnam War). The conviction was upheld by the court of appeals and overturned by the Supreme Court in ''Cohen v. California''.
Common alternatives
In conversation or writing, reference to or use of the word ''fuck'' may be replaced by any of many alternative words or phrases, including ''the F-word'' or ''the F-bomb'' (a play on ''A-bomb'' and ''H-bomb''), or simply, ''eff'' or ''f'' (as in ''What the eff/F'' or ''You effing/f'ing fool''). Also, there are many commonly used substitutes, such as ''flipping'', ''frigging'', ''fricking'', ''freaking'', ''feck'', ''fudge'', ''flaming'', ''forget'' or any of a number of similar-sounding nonsense words. In print, there are alternatives such as, ''F***'', ''F––k'', etc.; or a string of non-alphanumeric characters, for example, ''@$#*%!'' and similar (especially favored in comic books).
A replacement word that was used mainly on Usenet newsgroup, Usenet newsgroups is ''fsck'', derived from the name of the Unix ''f''ile ''s''ystem ''c''hec''k''ing utility.
See also
*Army creole
*Four-letter word
*Harcourt interpolation
*List of common false etymologies of English words#Profanity, List of common false etymologies of English words
*List of films that most frequently use the word fuck, List of films that most frequently use the word ''fuck''
*Madonna on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1994, Madonna on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' in 1994
*Profanity
*''Russian warship, go fuck yourself''
*Seven dirty words
*Sexual slang
*The finger (aka the middle finger), a related hand gesture
*The Pope Song
References
Dictionaries
Sources
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuck
English profanity
English words
Etymologies
Interjections
Sexual slang