sucker
Americannoun
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a person or thing that sucks.
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Informal. a person easily cheated, deceived, or imposed upon.
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an infant or a young animal that is suckled, especially a suckling pig.
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a part or organ of an animal adapted for sucking nourishment, or for adhering to an object as by suction.
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any of several freshwater, mostly North American food fishes of the family Catostomidae, having thick lips: some are now rare.
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Informal. a lollipop.
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the piston of a pump that works by suction, or the valve of such a piston.
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a pipe or tube through which something is drawn or sucked.
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Botany. a shoot rising from a subterranean stem or root.
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Informal. a person attracted to something as indicated.
He's a sucker for new clothes.
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Slang. any person or thing.
He's one of those smart, handsome suckers everybody likes. They're good boots, but the suckers pinch my feet.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a person or thing that sucks
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slang a person who is easily deceived or swindled
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slang a person who cannot resist the attractions of a particular type of person or thing
he's a sucker for blondes
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a young animal that is not yet weaned, esp a suckling pig
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zoology an organ that is specialized for sucking or adhering
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a cup-shaped device, generally made of rubber, that may be attached to articles allowing them to adhere to a surface by suction
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botany
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a strong shoot that arises in a mature plant from a root, rhizome, or the base of the main stem
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a short branch of a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from the host
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a pipe or tube through which a fluid is drawn by suction
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any small mainly North American cyprinoid fish of the family Catostomidae, having toothless jaws and a large sucking mouth
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any of certain fishes that have sucking discs, esp the clingfish or sea snail
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a piston in a suction pump or the valve in such a piston
verb
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(tr) to strip off the suckers from (a plant)
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(intr) (of a plant) to produce suckers
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A part by which an animal sucks blood from or uses suction to cling to another animal. Leeches and remoras have suckers.
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A shoot growing from the base or root of a tree or shrub and giving rise to a new plant, a clone of the plant from which it comes. The growth of suckers is a form of asexual reproduction.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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suckersimple
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suckerssimple
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have suckeredperfect
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has suckeredperfect
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am suckeringprogressive
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are suckeringprogressive
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is suckeringprogressive
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have been suckeringperfect progressive
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has been suckeringperfect progressive
Past
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suckeredsimple
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had suckeredperfect
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was suckeringprogressive
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were suckeringprogressive
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had been suckeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sucker
1350–1400; 1835–45 sucker for def. 2; Middle English; see suck, -er 1
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:
It was Barnum who said not only that a sucker was born every minute, but that you should “never give a sucker an even break.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
I am a sucker for it, for fashion like that of clothing designer Elsa Schiaparelli.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
Even among "other species with short little arms and a single sucker row, its colouration and smooth skin on the back surface separate it", she added.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
The part of me that’s a sucker for goal-setting and self-transformation also wondered: What if, rather than reject the parenting canon, I were to embrace it?
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
As I unwrap the sucker, I think about texting Ellen, but turn my phone facedown when I can’t decide what to say.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
People made fun of the way the Knicks courted stars like LeBron James, as if those suckers actually had a chance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
A local member of the public spotted the arms with rows of suckers at Forvie National Nature Reserve at Collieston, near Ellon, on Sunday and alerted reserve staff.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
That means dupes are just one of many issues facing home furnishing and improvement stocks that may leave investors feeling like suckers.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
The innocent-faced O’Connor excels at crooks and suckers and fittingly, his Jud describes himself as “young, dumb and full of Christ.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
Little kids are suckers for stuff like that.
From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen
First, don’t assume you’re too sophisticated to be suckered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
I imagined them recounting stories of the various customers they had suckered during the day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
I still cannot believe so many Americans got suckered so badly.
From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2025
It was actually Bashir who benefitted from the work done by Wood and Atkinson, as both Mikyle Louis and Kirk McKenzie were softened up by the pace, then suckered in by the spin.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2024
This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn’t totally suckered by Gabe.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Sadly, disingenuous trolling is often far too successful at suckering people into engagement.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2023
A mounding shrub with a modest suckering habit, the plant produces deliciously fragrant pink or white blooms in summer against pristine foliage, followed by a showy crop of bright red hips in fall.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 27, 2022
Pearce showed me many spicebush specimens that were browsed but are now suckering afresh.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 14, 2021
Is Karl-Bertil plotting another crime, suckering in a bohemian liberal intent on performing her own broad-mindedness, or is he just a broken soul desperate for a kind word?
From Slate ● Dec. 30, 2020
“Not suckering me here, are you, Jace? Tell you what, how about fleecing me for one pound?”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
