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Reference.org
Making out
open-in-new
<p>Making out is a term of <a href="/facts/American_English/sdAfgPgM">American</a> origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to <a href="/facts/Kissing/GQMr9BEr">kissing</a>, including extended <a href="/facts/French_kiss/yPwWs0cg">French kissing</a> or <i>necking</i> (heavy kissing of the neck, and above), or to acts of <a href="/facts/Non-penetrative_sex/8b9vrVxy">non-penetrative sex</a> such as heavy petting ("intimate contact, just short of sexual intercourse"). Equivalent terms in other dialects include the <a href="/facts/British_English/ymJR5Rnd">British English</a> getting off and the <a href="/facts/Hiberno-English/1RhpyNrx">Hiberno-English</a> shifting. When performed in a stationary vehicle, it has been euphemistically referred to as <i>parking</i>, coinciding with American <a href="/facts/Car_culture/M5gz0Tfa">car culture</a>. </p>