pucker
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
puckers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
puckered,
past participle, past
-
puckering
present participle
noun
-
puckers
plural
-
a wrinkle; an irregular fold.
-
a puckered part, as of cloth tightly or crookedly sewn.
-
Archaic. a state of agitation or perturbation.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
puckersimple
-
puckerssimple
-
have puckeredperfect
-
has puckeredperfect
-
am puckeringprogressive
-
are puckeringprogressive
-
is puckeringprogressive
-
have been puckeringperfect progressive
-
has been puckeringperfect progressive
Past
-
puckeredsimple
-
had puckeredperfect
-
was puckeringprogressive
-
were puckeringprogressive
-
had been puckeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pucker
1590–1600; apparently a frequentative form connected with poke 2; see -er 6 and for the meaning cf. purse
Explanation
Pucker is a verb for what happens when something smooth or flat gets folded up into little wrinkles, like how you pucker your lips when you go to kiss someone — you, wild flirt, you! When you use a sewing machine, sometimes the cloth puckers in wrinkly clumps that make it hard to sew in a straight line. Most of the time, it’s lips that do the puckering, maybe because you want a kiss, but also sucking on a lemon can make your lips pucker. If someone tells you to “pucker up,” they might want to kiss you, or they might throw a sour pickle at your head. Either way, get ready.
Vocabulary lists containing pucker
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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:
He avoids kissing for 24 hours before a performance and 48 hours before a competition because it makes it difficult to sustain a pucker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
So, why then do so some folks willingly crave foods that make their mouths pucker and tongues tingle?
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025
Mattel should have considered traditional pucker toe moccasins, instead of black shoes, and included symbols on the basket that Cherokees use to tell a story, she said.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
In other words, this complex dance between art, anatomy, and archaeology can bring the past almost to life—one eyelash, pucker, and pore at a time.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 23, 2023
The man seemed to shrink, seemed to pucker into himself until all there was was bulging eyes.
From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli
The building alternately puckers and swells, like the indolent flexing of a muscle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The crunchy onion gives a little sweetness while the pickle puckers in the most pleasing way to cut through all that heat.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2022
Bose says it has refined the design in subtle ways: according to the company, “pleats and puckers have been removed from soft materials, and gaps between components have been replaced with smooth transitions.”
From The Verge ● Aug. 31, 2021
He puckers his lips and pantomimes shoveling coal.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2020
She pictured her mother finishing them with lovely, soft toe puckers so the girls’ feet could twitch and dance.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
The seams in the seat jackets of our tester were puckered and imperfect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
Hashtags such as #sunburntanlines, #sunpoisoning and #sunstroke are popping up alongside videos of young men and women - some in tears - revealing deep red, almost purple, often puckered skin.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025
“That class, leading those guys, there were some puckered up Porsches and Corvettes,” Hendrick said.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 11, 2023
He puckered his lips and blew, as if spitting spitting water while laughing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2022
They had to be very puckered, Russell agreed.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Astringency is the dry, puckering, rough, or sandpapery feeling people notice when eating foods rich in certain plant compounds called polyphenols.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 7, 2026
To some, pie means flirtatious cherries, cinnamon-kissed apples or pleasantly puckering lemon awakening the taste buds.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2025
In fact, she’s so dedicated to that social critique that she can’t accept any contradictory evidence, even when gorgeous male celebrity lips are puckering up right in front of her.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2023
The building — which soars some 15 stories — sits surrounded by a chain-link fence, with broken windows puckering its elongated, and rusted, rooftop cupola.
From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2022
Her lips stop puckering, just for a few seconds.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
