Slang dictionary

bish

or beesh [ bish, beesh]

What does bish mean?

Bish, sometimes spelled as beesh, is an alternative form of the coarse slang bitch, often used as a playful term among Black women or in Black drag culture.

It’s not to be confused with BiSH, a Japanese girl group.

Related words

clout, basic bitch, hunty, slay, nawf, succ, boujee, betches

Where does bish come from?

Bish is a form of bitch, a disparaging, offensive slur for a woman. This alternative spelling and pronunciation comes across as much less aggressive—and is much less likely to be censored online.

Bish, recorded on Urban Dictionary as early as 2004, appears to originate in black slang. Rapper Kendrick Lamar helped popularize it on his 2012 song “Money Trees,” which features ya bish as a kind of refrain at the end of many lines, such as: “Back to reality we poor, ya bish (ya bish) / Another casualty at war, ya bish (ya bish).”

Rapper Nicki Minaj specifically credited black drag culture for bish after her 2014 single “Yasss Bish” made the term trend. She remarked that the term has a sexy confidence and can be used to affirm fellow women.

Speaking of Minaj, she appeared on a 2017 Katy Perry track, “Swish Swish,” the chorus of which begins: “Swish, swish, bish.”

Examples of bish

Do you like to laugh? Do you enjoy a real bish who will give it to ya straight whilst serving a killer ‘fit?! Look no further than Danielle Prescod, style director at BET, astrological Leo and fierce content monster.
Amanda Demeku, Flare, February 2019
Bish what? Bish I don’t watch that show only memes that go around. And I’m not for people doing this type stuff so what was the point of you mentioning that? Fake woke? Bish she and others out here doing this need to stop. I have my own views and I said what I said.
@stunningselmg, December 2018
Dainá / YouTube
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Who uses bish?

Bish, not unlike betch, can be a reclamation of bitch, used as a term of endearment or address instead of as a slur. Just like some people use dude or bro.

Bish is often seen in the phrases bish whet (“bitch, what?”, an expression of disbelief or dismay) and ya bish (“yeah bitch,” an affirmative expression, à la “you go, girl”).

While associated with black slang, bish has spread to—or been appropriated by—many in mainstream culture, thanks to the influence of hip-hop and drag.

In other contexts, however, bish can be used simply as a deliberate misspelling of bitch in all its senses, good or bad, possibly to avoid censors or to be informal.

Bish is not to be confused with the the Japanese girl group BiSH (short for Brand-new idol SHiT), who began producing music in 2015 and have earned a dedicated following. We can’t rule out, however, the group isn’t punning on bitch.

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Note

This is not meant to be a formal definition of bish like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of bish that will help our users expand their word mastery.

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