Noun

1. A female dog or other canine. In particular one who has recently had puppies.

   My bitch just had puppies: they're so cute!

2. A female who is malicious, spiteful, unbearable, intrusive, or obnoxious.

   Ann gossiped about me and mocked my work; sometimes she can be a real bitch!

   • 1913, D. H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, I. iv. 60:

     'Look at the children, you nasty little bitch!' he sneered.

3. By extension, a man with any of these qualities, especially a gay man (suggesting his behavior is womanly) or a man who is dishonorable, cowardly, spineless, whiny, or otherwise behaves in a manner unbecoming a man.
   • Glenn Close in the movie The Jagged Edge:

     You called me a bitch, didn’t you?

4. Friend.

   What’s up, my bitch?

   How my bitches been doin'?

5. An angry retort directed to a close buddy.

   Will you stop this, my bitch??

6. A person who is made to adopt a submissive role in a relationship.

   Do you have to ask your girl before you do everything? You must be the bitch in the relationship.

   • 1999 September 23, Chris Sheridan, “This House Is Freakin’ Sweet”, “Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater”, Family Guy, season 2, episode 1, Fox Broadcasting Company

     Now that you're stinking rich, we'd gladly be your bitch.

7. A complaint.
8. A difficult or confounding problem.

   Question 5 was a real bitch, don’t you think?

   That's a bitch of a question. (Or, a bitch of a problem, etc.)

9. A queen (the playing card)

Usage notes

• The noun is sometimes diffused by intentional colloquial overuse or misuse. In print, the noun referring to a person is demeaning and sometimes implies that the person being insulted is subservient.
• In professional circles, the noun is sometimes used to refer to intelligent and ambitious women with a high level of sex-appeal who use those qualities to achieve their goals.
• In the sense of an aggressive woman, this term is generally derogatory when used by men (and often when used by women), but, it is also used by some women to refer to themselves positively in a form of reclamation. It is important to note that many people do not believe that "bitch" is able to be reclaimed, because of its continued pejorative usage. Thus, the term is both potentially liberatory while also being controversial.

Synonyms

Verb

1. To make derogatory comments (about a person).

   Look, I saw you bitching about me yesterday, I know how you feel: why can't you say it to my face?

2. To criticize (something) spitefully, often for the sake of complaining rather than in order to have the problem corrected.

   All you ever do is bitch about the food I cook for you!

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:complain