chutzpa

or chutz·pah, hutz·pa, hutz·pah

[ hoo t-spuh, khoo t- ]
/ ˈhʊt spə, ˈxʊt- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR chutzpa ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Slang.

unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall.
audacity; nerve.

Origin of chutzpa

1890–95; < Yiddish khutspa < Aramaic ḥūṣpā

Words nearby chutzpa

chute, chute the chute, chute-the-chute, chutist, chutney, chutzpa, chutzpah, chuuk, chuuk islands, chuvash, chuvash autonomous republic

Words related to chutzpah

gall, audacity, boldness, arrogance, spine, nerve, brass, backbone, balls

Example sentences from the Web for chutzpah

British Dictionary definitions for chutzpah

chutzpah

hutzpah

/ (ˈxʊtspə) /

noun

informal shameless audacity; impudence

Word Origin for chutzpah

C20: from Yiddish

Cultural definitions for chutzpah

chutzpah
[ (khoot-spuh, hoot-spuh) ]

Yiddish term for courage bordering on arrogance, roughly equivalent to “nerve” (in the slang sense): “It took a lot of chutzpah to make such a controversial statement.”