stuff
Americannoun
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stuff
plural
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the material of which anything is made.
a hard, crystalline stuff.
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material to be worked upon or to be used in making something.
wood, steel, and other stuff for building.
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material of some unspecified kind.
a cushion filled with some soft stuff.
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Chiefly British. woven material or fabric, especially wool.
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property, as personal belongings or equipment; things.
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something to be swallowed, as food, drink, or medicine.
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inward character, qualities, or capabilities.
to have good stuff in one.
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Informal. action or talk of a particular kind.
kid stuff; Cut out the rough stuff.
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worthless things or matter.
to clean the stuff out of a closet.
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worthless or foolish ideas, talk, or writing.
a lot of stuff and nonsense.
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Sports.
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Baseball. the assortment of pitches that a pitcher uses in a game together with the ability to deliver them in the proper manner at the right speed to the desired spot.
He saved his best stuff for the tougher hitters in the lineup.
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spin or speed imparted to a ball, as by a baseball pitcher, a bowler, or a tennis player.
a pitch with plenty of stuff.
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Informal. journalistic, literary, artistic, dramatic, musical, or other compositions or performances.
Bach composed some splendid stuff.
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Informal. one's trade, skill, field, facts, etc..
She knows her stuff.
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Slang. any kind of drug, especially an illicit one.
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Also called stock. Papermaking. refined and beaten wet pulp ready for spreading on the wire.
verb (used with object)
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stuffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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stuffed,
past participle, past
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stuffing
present participle
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to fill (a receptacle), especially by packing the contents closely together; cram full.
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to fill (an aperture, cavity, etc.) by forcing something into it.
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to fill or line with some kind of material as a padding or packing.
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to fill or cram (oneself, one's stomach, etc.) with food.
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Cooking. to fill (meat, vegetables, etc.) with seasoned breadcrumbs or other savory matter.
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to fill the preserved skin of (a dead animal) with material, retaining its natural form and appearance for display.
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to put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
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to thrust or cram (something) into a receptacle, cavity, or the like.
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to pack tightly in a confined place; crowd together.
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to crowd (a vehicle, room, etc.) with persons.
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to clutter or fill (the mind) with facts, details, etc.
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(in leather manufacturing) to treat (a skin, hide, etc.) with a composition of tallow and other ingredients.
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to stop up or plug; block or choke (usually followed byup ).
verb (used without object)
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stuffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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stuffed,
past participle, past
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stuffing
present participle
verb
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to pack or fill completely; cram
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(intr) to eat large quantities
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to force, shove, or squeeze
to stuff money into a pocket
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to fill (food such as poultry or tomatoes) with a stuffing
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to fill (an animal's skin) with material so as to restore the shape of the live animal
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slang to have sexual intercourse with (a woman)
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tanning to treat (an animal skin or hide) with grease
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to fill (a ballot box) with a large number of fraudulent votes
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(in marine transport) to pack (a container) See also stuffing and stripping
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slang to ruin, frustrate, or defeat
noun
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the raw material or fabric of something
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woollen cloth or fabric
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any general or unspecified substance or accumulation of objects
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stupid or worthless actions, speech, ideas, etc
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subject matter, skill, etc
he knows his stuff
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a slang word for money
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slang a drug, esp cannabis
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slang a girl or woman considered sexually (esp in the phrase bit of stuff )
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informal to do what is expected of one
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that is what is needed
Usage
Sense 6 of this word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary . However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use
Synonym Usage
See matter.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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stuffernoun
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restuffverb (used with object)
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understuffverb (used with object)
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unstuffverb (used with object)
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stufflessadjective
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unstuffedadjective
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well-stuffedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stuffsimple
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stuffssimple
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have stuffedperfect
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has stuffedperfect
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am stuffingprogressive
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are stuffingprogressive
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is stuffingprogressive
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have been stuffingperfect progressive
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has been stuffingperfect progressive
Past
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stuffedsimple
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had stuffedperfect
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was stuffingprogressive
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were stuffingprogressive
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had been stuffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stuff
First recorded in 1300–50; (verb) late Middle English stuffen “to equip, furnish,” from Old French estoffer literally, “to stuff,” from unattested Frankish stopfōn, stoppōn; (noun) Middle English, from Old French estoffe, derivative of the verb; see stop
Explanation
"Good stuff!" you might say, tasting a delicious piece of cake. The word stuff could refer to all sorts of things. It's one of those words that you can use when you're too lazy to find the right word. Stuff is one of those words you use in all kinds of contexts, or for all kinds of stuff. When you throw a bunch of stuff into a bag, you could be referring to any arrangement of things. When you talk about someone's possessions, informally, you're talking about his stuff. As a verb, to stuff something, is to fill it up — like when you stuff a turkey with breadcrumbs or stuff a pillow with... stuffing.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Tablets are best for reading and watching stuff on the couch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026
"Food prices are getting insanely high, so I have to increasingly rely on stuff imported from overseas, because homegrown products cost me more," Tokyo office worker Kazuhiko Sato told AFP.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
"We'll have to get a lot right next week and fix some stuff."
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
It was the Texas stuff, though, that the band came back to the most.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026
She says more stuff, I know, because she’s turning pages and pointing, but I don’t hear or see any of it.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
He dutifully stuffs the bills into the slot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
The Cowboys didn’t get a green dot in free agency, which remains a major hole, and Rodriguez does it all and stuffs the stat sheet.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
Top holdings include Thai Foods Group, which distributes poultry and other food stuffs in Thailand, and Brazilian energy companies Petroreconcavo and Petrobras.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
Later, he lies down and the man in the rabbit head, from whom he has taken a carrot, blows up black balloons and stuffs them in Smko’s clothing so they look like bulging tumors.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
He tosses it to Haymitch, who stuffs a fistful of sweets in his mouth before passing the bag to a giggling Prim.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Prosecutors said the bag also contained two white envelopes stuffed with $15,000 in cash — the remainder of Meiser’s payment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
She said she had seen immigration fine notices, "some worth £40,000, stuffed in a box" on a mini-mart counter.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
The Cheesecake Factory is a North Star stuffed in an egg roll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
The price of a small stuffed animal at the local grocery store where personal finance reporter Veronica Dagher shops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
I’d stuffed it there two hours ago so I could concentrate on my homework rather than wonder why it was taking him so long to text me, when he’s had my number for hours.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
After a few jaw-clenching, squinty-eyed minutes—and after stuffing the CrossWave so hard it practically tore off my trunks—I eased off the throttle, exhausted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
The $99 dish, roasted with herb butter under the skin, comes with crunchy sourdough stuffing infused with foie gras and mashed potatoes whipped with butter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The point is to notice that stuffing, stripped of its ceremonial duties, is an exceptionally forgiving way to turn bread and whatever else you have into dinner.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
The hackers used a common tactic known as credential stuffing to access the data, which exploits weak and reused passwords.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
We keep picking up trash and stuffing it into bulging black bags.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
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