ruck
1 Americannoun
-
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)
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rucks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rucked,
past participle, past
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rucking
present participle
noun
-
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
-
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
-
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:
After Savea doubled New Zealand's advantage, Jacobson was sin-binned when his shoulder caught Van der Flier's head at a ruck, with the Chiefs flanker fortunate to avoid a 20-minute red following a review.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Last weekend, South Africa's powerful ground game had slowed England's ruck speed, pouring sludge in their attacking gears.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
In reaching into the ruck it was like Beirne had also reached into their soul, and in that act came a moment of clarity.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 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
It would be as if you pushed against the edge of a rug hoping to raise a ruck at the opposite end.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
The 31-year-old has hit 1,247 defensive and attacking rucks during this period - a staggering 515 more than any of his team-mates.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
Schoeman is as likely to speak about God and love as he is about rucks and scrums.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025
Defensively, England put nobody in the rucks and they were actively backing away from competing for the ball.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2025
Two rucks later he is in trying to jackal for the ball as a full-back because he is annoyed he hasn't caught that kick.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2025
They seemed to be all bills, and Father sighed as he looked them over, his forehead puckered into rucks and lines.
From The Fairies and the Christmas Child by Lilian Gask
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
The Jacksonville Beach, Fla.-based company also makes gear for rucking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
In 2010, Jason went back to what he knew, building teams, by inviting others to join him in rucking challenges that mimicked special forces training.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
After a while, though, on one walk home or another, my brain dredges up some advice I saw in a YouTube video about the biomechanics of rucking, made by physiologist and trainer Mike Prevost.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2023
These events are designed more for rucking clubs than casual newcomers.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2023
He pushed his right foot slowly backwards and forwards on Rupert's back, rucking up the dog's loose skin in heavy folds.
From Flames by Robert Smythe Hichens
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.
