stuff

[ stuhf ]

noun

1. the material of which anything is made:

   a hard, crystalline stuff.

2. material to be worked upon or to be used in making something:

   wood, steel, and other stuff for building.

3. material of some unspecified kind:

   a cushion filled with some soft stuff.

4. Chiefly British. woven material or fabric, especially wool.
5. property, as personal belongings or equipment; things.
6. something to be swallowed, as food, drink, or medicine.
7. inward character, qualities, or capabilities:

   to have good stuff in one.

8. Informal. action or talk of a particular kind:

   kid stuff; Cut out the rough stuff.

9. worthless things or matter:

   to clean the stuff out of a closet.

   Synonyms: trash, rubbish, waste, refuse, litter, debris, junk

10. worthless or foolish ideas, talk, or writing:

    a lot of stuff and nonsense.

    Synonyms: balderdash, claptrap, twaddle, nonsense, rigmarole, gibberish, blather

11. Sports.
    1. Baseball. the assortment of pitches that a pitcher uses in a game together with the ability to deliver them in the proper manner at the right speed to the desired spot:

       He saved his best stuff for the tougher hitters in the lineup.

    2. spin or speed imparted to a ball, as by a baseball pitcher, a bowler, or a tennis player:

       a pitch with plenty of stuff.

12. Informal. journalistic, literary, artistic, dramatic, musical, or other compositions or performances:

    Bach composed some splendid stuff.

13. Informal. one's trade, skill, field, facts, etc.:

    She knows her stuff.

14. Slang. any kind of drug, especially an illicit one.
15. Also called stock. Papermaking. refined and beaten wet pulp ready for spreading on the wire.

verb (used with object)

1. to fill (a receptacle), especially by packing the contents closely together; cram full.
2. to fill (an aperture, cavity, etc.) by forcing something into it.
3. to fill or line with some kind of material as a padding or packing.
4. to fill or cram (oneself, one's stomach, etc.) with food.
5. Cooking. to fill (meat, vegetables, etc.) with seasoned breadcrumbs or other savory matter.
6. to fill the preserved skin of (a dead animal) with material, retaining its natural form and appearance for display.
7. to put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
8. to thrust or cram (something) into a receptacle, cavity, or the like.

   Synonyms: stow, ram, press, compress, jam

9. to pack tightly in a confined place; crowd together.
10. to crowd (a vehicle, room, etc.) with persons.
11. to clutter or fill (the mind) with facts, details, etc.
12. (in leather manufacturing) to treat (a skin, hide, etc.) with a composition of tallow and other ingredients.
13. to stop up or plug; block or choke (usually followed by up ).

    Synonyms: obstruct, clog

verb (used without object)

1. to cram oneself with food; eat gluttonously; gorge.

stuff

/ stʌf /

verb

1. to pack or fill completely; cram
2. intr to eat large quantities
3. to force, shove, or squeeze

   to stuff money into a pocket

4. to fill (food such as poultry or tomatoes) with a stuffing
5. to fill (an animal's skin) with material so as to restore the shape of the live animal
6. slang.
   to have sexual intercourse with (a woman)
7. tanning to treat (an animal skin or hide) with grease
8. to fill (a ballot box) with a large number of fraudulent votes
9. (in marine transport) to pack (a container) See also stuffing and stripping
10. slang.
    to ruin, frustrate, or defeat

noun

1. the raw material or fabric of something
2. woollen cloth or fabric
3. any general or unspecified substance or accumulation of objects
4. stupid or worthless actions, speech, ideas, etc
5. subject matter, skill, etc

   he knows his stuff

6. a slang word for money
7. slang.
   a drug, esp cannabis
8. slang.
   a girl or woman considered sexually (esp in the phrase bit of stuff )
9. do one's stuff informal.
   to do what is expected of one
10. that's the stuff
    that is what is needed

Usage

Sense 6 of this word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary . However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use

Derived Forms

• ˈstuffer, noun

Other Words From

• stuffless adjective
• re·stuff verb (used with object)
• under·stuff verb (used with object)
• un·stuff verb (used with object)
• un·stuffed adjective
• well-stuffed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stuff¹

First recorded in 1300–50; (verb) late Middle English stuffen “to equip, furnish,” from Old French estoffer literally, “to stuff,” from unattested Frankish stopfōn, stoppōn; (noun) Middle English, from Old French estoffe, derivative of the verb; stop

Word History and Origins

Origin of stuff¹

C14: from Old French estoffe, from estoffer to furnish, provide, of Germanic origin; related to Middle High German stopfen to cram full

Idioms and Phrases

• get stuffed
• hot number (stuff)
• kid stuff
• know one's stuff
• strut one's stuff

Synonym Study

See matter.

Example Sentences

As we hired new employees, a few did stupid stuff, leading to errors that cost the company money.

From Freakonomics

There’s a societal position that these cases are between these two people, and if it’s between a man and a woman, that’s personal stuff that we can’t get involved in.

From Vox

So now we get to the cool stuff – reverse-engineering the SERPs to snag those premium organic placements.

From Search Engine Watch

That’s going to create more pressure for the stuff that isn’t political.

From Digiday

It tracks the typical fitness stuff you’d expect like steps and pulse trends.

From Popular-Science

The best comparison here for an American audience is, well, Internet stuff.

From The Daily Beast

We did ThunderAnt stuff for ourselves and just put it online, and then it blossomed into something else.

From The Daily Beast

I think all the traveling and all the nationalities put that stuff in my head.

From The Daily Beast

It was a bit strange for a while here with all the Newsweek stuff.

From The Daily Beast

There were a lot of little pieces, pieces of lead and stuff.

From The Daily Beast

I have seen a lot of Bolshevik propaganda and it is not very convincing stuff.

From Project Gutenberg

It makes out of the savage raw material which is our basal mental stuff, a citizen.

From Project Gutenberg

I've got a writ here, Baptiste, and will be glad to have you tell me where this stuff of yours is so I can go and get it.

From Project Gutenberg

In his youngest days, when his mother used to regulate his food, she would stuff him full of rice.

From Project Gutenberg

We're right under their noses, so they won't do anything till the stuff's actually in sight.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cram
• fill
• pack
• pad
• shove
• squeeze
• stow
• wedge