shuck

¹ American  

[shuhk] / ʃʌk /

noun

1. a husk or pod, as the outer covering of corn, hickory nuts, chestnuts, etc.

2. Informal. Usually shucks something useless or worthless.

   They don't care shucks about the project.

3. the shell of an oyster or clam.

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verb (used with object)

1. to remove the shucks from.

   to shuck corn.

2. to remove or discard as or like shucks; peel off.

   to shuck one's clothes.

3. Slang. to get rid of (often followed byoff ).

   a bad habit I couldn't shuck off for years.

interjection

1. Informal. shucks, (used as a mild exclamation of disgust or regret.)

shuck ² American  

[shuhk] / ʃʌk /

verb (used with object)

Slang.

1. to deceive or lie to.

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shuck British  

/ ʃʌk /

noun

1. the outer covering of something, such as the husk of a grain of maize, a pea pod, or an oyster shell

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verb

1. to remove the shucks from

2. informal to throw off or remove (clothes, etc)

Other Word Forms

• shucker noun

Etymology

Origin of shuck¹

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain

Origin of shuck²

1955–60; origin uncertain; perhaps from exclamation shucks! ( see shuck ¹) taken as a feigned sign of rural ignorance or a sham apology

Example Sentences

Take for example Weis Markets, who put up a sign urging consumers to shuck corn outside of their stores solely for the safety of other shoppers.

From Salon • Aug. 23, 2023

I’ll put one of my oyster plates in the freezer while I shuck the oysters from the farmers market.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2023

It takes just a few minutes to zap the corn cobs in their husks, which makes them easy to shuck.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 31, 2022

Martha was willing to shuck her ladylike trappings — to be ugly and to say ugly things — in ways the actor evidently is not.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2022

There was a cot with a shuck mattress, an apple box holding a tin lantern, and a backless rocking-chair in the little room of the bunkhouse.

From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck