What does pube mean?
Pube is an informal English noun used mainly for pubic hair, especially when someone is trimming, removing, or describing it. It can also refer more broadly to the pubic region at the base of the abdomen around the external genitals. In everyday use, the word is plain and sometimes deliberately humorous rather than erotic; it is not normally treated as a formal anatomical term. Writers concerned with neutral or technical style usually choose “pubic hair” for the hair and “pubic region” or “pubic area” for the body location. The word is used in both British and American English, though it is particularly associated with informal British usage and beauty or grooming contexts. Its vocabulary relatives include the fully standard “pubic,” “pubis,” and “puberty.” Although “pube” is short and modern-sounding, it comes through older anatomical usage based on Latin, in which the same root referred to adulthood and associated bodily changes. Knowing both its grooming sense and its anatomical sense helps prevent confusion in contexts where precision matters.
nounThe pubic region at the base of the abdomen around the external genitals; in informal use, the pubic hair growing there.
- Informally, pubic hair.
- Anatomically, the pubic region around the external genitals.
"He decided to trim his pube before the summer heat arrived."
"The beauty salon offers treatments that remove unwanted pubic hair."
"The clinician examined the pubic region for signs of irritation."
The standard plural is pubes, although the singular form pube is much more common in ordinary use.
"She trimmed her pubes before the photo shoot."
Pube looks slangy, but its Latin root referred to adulthood and the bodily changes associated with it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pube come from?
Pube is a modern English back-formation from pubes, an earlier form associated with pubic hair. It belongs to a larger English and Latin anatomical family based on Latin pūbēs, meaning an adult or grown-up person, and pūbis, referring to the pubic bone. English adopted related words including pubic and puberty, while the shorter and more conversational pube became especially common in informal grooming contexts.
Related word forms
How pube is actually used
Pube is informal and can sound blunt or humorous. In neutral or technical prose, pubic hair, pubic region, and pubic area are more usual.
Easily confused with pube
The pubis is the front portion of the paired hip bones, whereas pube commonly refers to pubic hair or the soft-tissue pubic region.