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psych - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Clipping.

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “"Clipping" explains the noun and adjective senses well enough, but not the verbal ones. The interjection might even be a totally different word.”

psych (countable and uncountable, plural psychs) (informal)

  1. (uncountable) Psychology or psychiatry.

    I took psych my freshman year in university.

  2. (countable) A psychologist; a psychiatrist.

    • 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 476:

      She had attended a conference of psychs at which he had presided and they had taken a fancy to each other.

  3. A psychiatric hospital; psychiatric treatment.

    • 2014 August 15, Desha Blue, “News 2013”, in Psychiatric Abuse Poetry.....: Shattering the Bloody Glass Ceiling, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN:

      A fool who had never seen reality would think an old lady is harmless or weak. Perhaps the morons in the outside world believe an old lady locked-up in psych is akin to a sweet little grandmother, a poor old dear who is just a little confused.

    • 2016 March 6, Joanna Mazurkiewicz, “Detective Lee”, in Skimming the Surface (Love & Hate; 4), published 2020, →ISBN:

      “I couldn’t stay in the psych. I had to get out, before Rudolf got to me. He is alive; he set me up,” I tell him, looking around, and trying to figure out why I’m not in prison or at the police station.

    • 2025 June 30, Lexy Timms, “Clay”, in Not Another Love Story, part 2, Dark Shadow Publishing, →ISBN:

      I still stood by my assessment that she should’ve checked into psych. Body dysmorphia was one thing but actually believing Barbie was a real person walking among us? That was a little too much.

psych (comparative more psych, superlative most psych) (informal)

  1. Psychedelic.

    curtains with psych colors

  2. Psychiatric.

    involuntarily committed to the psych ward

psych (third-person singular simple present psychs, present participle psyching, simple past and past participle psyched) (informal)

  1. (transitive, reflexive) To put (someone) into a required psychological frame of mind (also psych up).

    Hip hop always gets me psyched, so I put it on before a race.

    • 1979 August 18, Maida Tilchen, Nancy Vogl, Debbie Lempke, Susan Shanbaum, Bonnie Lockhart, “The Diversity of Women's Music”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 5, page 913:

      On the stage, what we have to try to have shine through is our love for each other. Sometimes it's difficult, we have to try to psych ourselves out of the places we're at and go to a higher spiritual plane.

  2. (transitive) To intimidate (someone) emotionally or using psychology (also psych out).
  3. (transitive) To treat (someone) using psychoanalysis.

to put into required frame of mind

to intimidate with psychology

to treat with psychoanalysis

psych (slang)

  1. Indicating that one's preceding statement was false and that one has successfully fooled one's interlocutor.

    Here, have fifty dollars. Psych! That was two dollars!

    I broke up with my ex girl. Here's her number. Psych! That's the wrong number!

  2. An interjection of surprised happiness.

    Psych! I just found my missing bracelet!