ruck
1 Americannoun
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a large number or quantity; mass.
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the great mass of undistinguished or inferior persons or things.
noun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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a large number or quantity; mass, esp of ordinary or undistinguished people or things
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(in a race) a group of competitors who are well behind the leaders at the finish
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rugby a loose scrum that forms around the ball when it is on the ground
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Australian rules football the three players, two ruckmen and a rover, that do not have fixed positions but follow the ball closely
verb
noun
verb
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rucksimple
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ruckssimple
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have ruckedperfect
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has ruckedperfect
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am ruckingprogressive
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are ruckingprogressive
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is ruckingprogressive
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have been ruckingperfect progressive
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has been ruckingperfect progressive
Past
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ruckedsimple
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had ruckedperfect
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was ruckingprogressive
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were ruckingprogressive
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had been ruckingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ruck1
1175–1225; Middle English ruke, perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian ruka in same senses; akin to rick 1
Origin of ruck2
First recorded in 1780–90, ruck is from the Old Norse word hrukka a wrinkle
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:
The visitors took a deserved lead when scrum-half Bracken collected from a ruck to glide past Cokansiga on his inside, dotting down for a try that Farrell slotted comfortably.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026
Dupont's 2025 Six Nations ended at the back of a ruck in the Aviva Stadium.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
Massive numbers in ruck hits, ball carries and tackles.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
Dupont quickly made amends, spinning off the back of a ruck in midfield, stiff-arming hooker Tolu Latu onto his back and scooting through a huge gap to score.
From Barron's ● Dec. 28, 2025
A snatch of turfy drumming, then I went flying over a ruck and the ground booted the air out of me and I got a glimpse of a leaping dog's flank.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
"Everyone will have their opinions 'oh you are not a real forward' or I don't hit rucks hard," a confident Miller said.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025
They support the hooker in the scrum, provide power at rucks and mauls, lift jumpers in the line-out, and carry hard.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2025
Defensively, England put nobody in the rucks and they were actively backing away from competing for the ball.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025
King was one of three players in WXV1 to hit 20 or more defensive rucks, winning four turnovers in the process.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2024
It were the Queen's Drawing-room, they said, and the carriages went bowling along towards her house, some wi' dressed-up gentlemen like circus folk in 'em, and rucks* o' ladies in others.
From Mary Barton by Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn
Max Malins impressed with his first international tries while Ellie Genge carried, rucked and scrummaged tirelessly before powering over for England's third.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2023
She focused on her boots, the crisp prints of the ash she’d tracked onto the pale-blue carpet, and on his sock feet with the skinny hairless shins visible where his pajama pants had rucked up.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2022
If the ice is rucked up into jagged ridges, I can proceed with caution.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 10, 2022
Three days later, when we caught up again in Manchester, Iowa, the bus was strewn with cups of cold coffee, the veneer was covered with dust and the shades were all rucked up.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 2, 2016
The only light comes through the Venetian blinds and leads in strips across the rucked covers, the comforter.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
But: “by definition, rucking is moving from point A to point B with a backpack,” said another Redditor.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2023
At first, rucking lives up to this reputation: It sucks.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2023
It holds rucking meetups every Wednesday in West Seattle at the Thistle Street stairs, near Lincoln Park; club members walk up and down the stairs in their packs for 45 minutes.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2023
To begin rucking, you need a backpack … and weight.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2023
Her mouth expressed disapproval by rucking down on the sides, which was all very attractive but also irritating.
From Ultima Thule by Reynolds, Mack
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.
