pucker
Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
-
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
She’s wearing a green dress with puffed sleeves and some kind of pucker stitching across the top.
From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko
The building alternately puckers and swells, like the indolent flexing of a muscle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Fattoush is one of the bright, simple joys of summer: Tomatoes spill sunshine, pita shards and cucumbers take turns showing off their snap, sumac puckers, and mint and parsley cool, often, in a single bite.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2022
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
Zohra puckers her clown lips and blows me a kiss.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
In fact a laundry list of laundry terms could apply: folded, pressed, softened, agitated, pleated, creased, puckered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 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
The skin around his neck was puckered and white—a scar that encircled his throat like a collar.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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
These candies will have your mouth puckering — and salivating for more.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025
“They’re the Sour Patch Kids of chips,” said one puckering colleague.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 7, 2022
The espresso can be sipped, unsweetened, without puckering or grimacing.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2022
The bottle makes a puckering sound as he squeezes a dark dollop onto the toe.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
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.
