shuck

[ shuhk ]

See synonyms for: shuck shucks shucker 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

Get these oysters shucked by your fishmonger, or shuck them yourself and toss on the grill.
6 simple recipes to showcase clams, mussels and oysters | Kari Sonde | January 11, 2021 | Washington Post
As customers avoid seafood restaurants for fear of contracting the coronavirus, they’ve turned away from oysters, which can be difficult to shuck and prepare at home.
Solar-powered barge could take oyster farming deeper into Chesapeake | Christine Condon | January 11, 2021 | Washington Post
She took me and a handful of other tourists to a smattering of small restaurants, trendy breweries and outdoor waterside vendors selling everything from freshly shucked oysters to provisions like locally pickled kelp.
This year, give a holiday gift that evokes your favorite city or state | Liza Weisstuch | December 3, 2020 | Washington Post
He and Laddie put my doll in the corn shucker and they started to turn the wheel.
Six Little Bunkers at Grandma Bell's | Laura Lee Hope
That an oyster-shucker every month or so discovers a pearl which he goes out and sells for five hundred dollars.
The American Credo | George Jean Nathan

Maybe I could think up a riddle about a corn shucker, if I tried real hard.
Six Little Bunkers at Aunt Jo's | Laura Lee Hope

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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