shuck

¹ American  

[shuhk] / ʃʌk /

noun

• shucks
  plural

1. a husk or pod, as the outer covering of corn, hickory nuts, chestnuts, etc.

2. Informal. Usually shucks something useless or worthless.

   They don't care shucks about the project.

3. the shell of an oyster or clam.

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verb (used with object)

1. to remove the shucks from.

   to shuck corn.

2. to remove or discard as or like shucks; peel off.

   to shuck one's clothes.

3. Slang. to get rid of (often followed byoff ).

   a bad habit I couldn't shuck off for years.

interjection

1. Informal. shucks, (used as a mild exclamation of disgust or regret.)

shuck ² American  

[shuhk] / ʃʌk /

verb (used with object)

Slang.

1. to deceive or lie to.

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shuck British  

/ ʃʌk /

noun

1. the outer covering of something, such as the husk of a grain of maize, a pea pod, or an oyster shell

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verb

1. to remove the shucks from

2. informal to throw off or remove (clothes, etc)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shucker
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shucks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of shuck¹

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain

Origin of shuck²

1955–60; origin uncertain; perhaps from exclamation shucks! ( see shuck ¹) taken as a feigned sign of rural ignorance or a sham apology

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shuck shucks

The actor learned to shuck oysters and clean fish to play a mentor to a teenage Anthony Bourdain in the new movie “Tony.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

So, it came as a major surprise when I learned that several markets now advise their consumers to shuck their corn at home.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2023

I’ll put one of my oyster plates in the freezer while I shuck the oysters from the farmers market.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Our food writers have recommended the roasted oysters in chipotle bourbon butter with toasted baguette, raw oysters on the half shell or trying to shuck yourself for a DIY experience.

From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2022

“I guess if a man had to shuck off everything he had, inside and out, he’d manage to hide a few little sins somewhere for his own discomfort. They’re the last things we’ll give up.”

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

During his $45 two-hour tours that embark from a dock at Schooner Landing, Holmes offers a steady patter of oyster-related wisecracks, as his partner, Olga Oros, shucks and hands out shellfish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

In 2019’s “Shazam!,” also directed by David F. Sandberg, there was something rather charming about Levi’s boyish performance, a grown man playing Superman with all the aw shucks wonder of a teenager.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2023

The NFL issued a $10 million fine — so, shucks, poor Dan will have to put his next super yacht on layaway — and shifted day-to-day control of the team to his wife, Tanya.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 23, 2022

He might as well have said, "Aw, shucks."

From Fox News ● Feb. 5, 2022

He picks the first ear off the stalk, hurriedly shucks it, and buries his teeth into it.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

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