shuck

[ shuhk ]

See synonyms for shuck on Thesaurus.com

noun

a husk or pod, as the outer covering of corn, hickory nuts, chestnuts, etc.
Usually shucks .Informal. something useless or worthless: They don't care shucks about the project.

the shell of an oyster or clam.

verb (used with object)

to remove the shucks from: to shuck corn.
to remove or discard as or like shucks; peel off: to shuck one's clothes.

Slang. to get rid of (often followed by off): a bad habit I couldn't shuck off for years.

interjection

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

Origin of shuck

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain

Other words from shuck

shucker, noun

Other definitions for shuck (2 of 2)

shuck²

[ shuhk ]

verb (used with object)Slang.

to deceive or lie to.

Origin of shuck

1955–60; origin uncertain; perhaps from exclamation shucks! (see shuck¹) taken as a feigned sign of rural ignorance or a sham apology

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shuck in a sentence

So GM went through a painful restructuring, shucked a lot of obligations, and worked hard to introduce new products.
Bailout’s Success Lets Treasury Take Loss on General Motors Stock | Daniel Gross | December 19, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Sometimes I substitute the soup with freshly shucked oysters.
Turkey Day Bacchanal | Christopher Idone | November 23, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
Sheila was staring at him as he shucked off his outer clothes mechanically and crawled under the blanket.
Police Your Planet | Lester del Rey
Nick shucked out of his unpleasant quarters, halted to watch the thing spinning downward.
Satan and the Comrades | Ralph Bennitt
From the desk he lifted a time-yellowed, legal-looking paper, folded flat; he shucked it open with his thumb.
Back Home | Irvin S. Cobb

Lefty shucked out the last two cards carelessly, as if they didn't really matter.
Card Trick | Walter Bupp AKA Randall Garrett
The next day, the farmer-host, without help, shucked the ears that were left upon his corn-crib floor.
Sergeant York And His People | Sam Cowan

British Dictionary definitions for shuck

shuck

/ (ʃʌk) /

noun

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

verb(tr)

to remove the shucks from
informal, mainly US and Canadian to throw off or remove (clothes, etc)

Origin of shuck

C17: American dialect, of unknown origin

Derived forms of shuck

shucker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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