"four-letter word" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "From the frequency of the most common swear words being composed of or spelt with four letters.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "four-letter words",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "four-letter word"
      },
      "expansion": "four-letter word (plural four-letter words)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "62 38",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1934, Cole Porter (lyrics and music), “Anything Goes”, in Anything Goes",
          "text": "Good authors, too, who once knew better words / Now only use four-letter words",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1981, “Wordy Rappinghood”, performed by Tom Tom Club",
          "text": "Words can make you pay and pay / Four-letter words I cannot say",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A reference to any of several of the strongest English swear words that are also four letters long, especially those composing the so-called seven dirty words."
      ],
      "id": "en-four-letter_word-en-noun-mJIwRta4",
      "links": [
        [
          "swear word",
          "swear word"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968, “Work Is a Four-Letter Word”, performed by Cilla Black",
          "text": "People say that you were born lazy / because you think that work is four-letter word",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1996, “Friend Is a Four-Letter Word”, in Fashion Nugget, performed by Cake",
          "text": "To me, coming from you, 'Friend' is a four letter word",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 January 20, Eve Smith, “The techlash against Amazon, Facebook and Google—and what they can do”, in The Economist",
          "text": "“Tech” is not yet a four-letter word, but it could soon become one.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A swear word or any words considered to be taboo in a given scenario (regardless of length of word)."
      ],
      "id": "en-four-letter_word-en-noun-jhw~nEfv",
      "links": [
        [
          "swear word",
          "swear word"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) A swear word or any words considered to be taboo in a given scenario (regardless of length of word)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "four-letter word"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From the frequency of the most common swear words being composed of or spelt with four letters.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "four-letter words",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "four-letter word"
      },
      "expansion": "four-letter word (plural four-letter words)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1934, Cole Porter (lyrics and music), “Anything Goes”, in Anything Goes",
          "text": "Good authors, too, who once knew better words / Now only use four-letter words",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1981, “Wordy Rappinghood”, performed by Tom Tom Club",
          "text": "Words can make you pay and pay / Four-letter words I cannot say",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A reference to any of several of the strongest English swear words that are also four letters long, especially those composing the so-called seven dirty words."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "swear word",
          "swear word"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1968, “Work Is a Four-Letter Word”, performed by Cilla Black",
          "text": "People say that you were born lazy / because you think that work is four-letter word",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1996, “Friend Is a Four-Letter Word”, in Fashion Nugget, performed by Cake",
          "text": "To me, coming from you, 'Friend' is a four letter word",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2018 January 20, Eve Smith, “The techlash against Amazon, Facebook and Google—and what they can do”, in The Economist",
          "text": "“Tech” is not yet a four-letter word, but it could soon become one.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A swear word or any words considered to be taboo in a given scenario (regardless of length of word)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "swear word",
          "swear word"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) A swear word or any words considered to be taboo in a given scenario (regardless of length of word)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "four-letter word"
}