stuff
Americannoun
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stuff
plural
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the material of which anything is made.
a hard, crystalline stuff.
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material to be worked upon or to be used in making something.
wood, steel, and other stuff for building.
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material of some unspecified kind.
a cushion filled with some soft stuff.
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Chiefly British. woven material or fabric, especially wool.
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property, as personal belongings or equipment; things.
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something to be swallowed, as food, drink, or medicine.
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inward character, qualities, or capabilities.
to have good stuff in one.
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Informal. action or talk of a particular kind.
kid stuff; Cut out the rough stuff.
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worthless things or matter.
to clean the stuff out of a closet.
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worthless or foolish ideas, talk, or writing.
a lot of stuff and nonsense.
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Sports.
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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.
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spin or speed imparted to a ball, as by a baseball pitcher, a bowler, or a tennis player.
a pitch with plenty of stuff.
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Informal. journalistic, literary, artistic, dramatic, musical, or other compositions or performances.
Bach composed some splendid stuff.
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Informal. one's trade, skill, field, facts, etc..
She knows her stuff.
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Slang. any kind of drug, especially an illicit one.
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Also called stock. Papermaking. refined and beaten wet pulp ready for spreading on the wire.
verb (used with object)
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stuffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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stuffed,
past participle, past
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stuffing
present participle
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to fill (a receptacle), especially by packing the contents closely together; cram full.
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to fill (an aperture, cavity, etc.) by forcing something into it.
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to fill or line with some kind of material as a padding or packing.
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to fill or cram (oneself, one's stomach, etc.) with food.
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Cooking. to fill (meat, vegetables, etc.) with seasoned breadcrumbs or other savory matter.
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to fill the preserved skin of (a dead animal) with material, retaining its natural form and appearance for display.
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to put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
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to thrust or cram (something) into a receptacle, cavity, or the like.
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to pack tightly in a confined place; crowd together.
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to crowd (a vehicle, room, etc.) with persons.
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to clutter or fill (the mind) with facts, details, etc.
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(in leather manufacturing) to treat (a skin, hide, etc.) with a composition of tallow and other ingredients.
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to stop up or plug; block or choke (usually followed byup ).
verb (used without object)
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stuffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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stuffed,
past participle, past
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stuffing
present participle
verb
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to pack or fill completely; cram
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(intr) to eat large quantities
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to force, shove, or squeeze
to stuff money into a pocket
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to fill (food such as poultry or tomatoes) with a stuffing
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to fill (an animal's skin) with material so as to restore the shape of the live animal
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slang to have sexual intercourse with (a woman)
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tanning to treat (an animal skin or hide) with grease
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to fill (a ballot box) with a large number of fraudulent votes
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(in marine transport) to pack (a container) See also stuffing and stripping
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slang to ruin, frustrate, or defeat
noun
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the raw material or fabric of something
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woollen cloth or fabric
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any general or unspecified substance or accumulation of objects
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stupid or worthless actions, speech, ideas, etc
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subject matter, skill, etc
he knows his stuff
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a slang word for money
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slang a drug, esp cannabis
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slang a girl or woman considered sexually (esp in the phrase bit of stuff )
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informal to do what is expected of one
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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
Synonym Usage
See matter.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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stuffernoun
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restuffverb (used with object)
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understuffverb (used with object)
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unstuffverb (used with object)
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stufflessadjective
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unstuffedadjective
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well-stuffedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stuffsimple
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stuffssimple
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have stuffedperfect
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has stuffedperfect
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am stuffingprogressive
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are stuffingprogressive
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is stuffingprogressive
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have been stuffingperfect progressive
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has been stuffingperfect progressive
Past
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stuffedsimple
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had stuffedperfect
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was stuffingprogressive
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were stuffingprogressive
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had been stuffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stuff
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; see stop
Explanation
"Good stuff!" you might say, tasting a delicious piece of cake. The word stuff could refer to all sorts of things. It's one of those words that you can use when you're too lazy to find the right word. Stuff is one of those words you use in all kinds of contexts, or for all kinds of stuff. When you throw a bunch of stuff into a bag, you could be referring to any arrangement of things. When you talk about someone's possessions, informally, you're talking about his stuff. As a verb, to stuff something, is to fill it up — like when you stuff a turkey with breadcrumbs or stuff a pillow with... stuffing.
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:
That’s what Fat Bear Week means to me, and I think we could all use more stuff like it.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
"The FIA should be more strict and start handing out bans for this kind of stuff," Norris said.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
They didn’t buy stuff on credit; they waited until they could afford it.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
The ports of the world’s biggest importer unload more than $1 trillion of stuff each year, and then businesses move that stuff over longer distances than almost any other major economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
A big chunk of the class time was taken up talking about and doing stuff for the elections.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
While Scotland's supporters did not manage to free some banned food stuffs, they have blown open the hearts of Bostonians who have embraced the takeover of their city in the last week and a half.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Top holdings include Thai Foods Group, which distributes poultry and other food stuffs in Thailand, and Brazilian energy companies Petroreconcavo and Petrobras.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
The cash-strapped Rossellini stuffs free snacks into his pockets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
Later, he lies down and the man in the rabbit head, from whom he has taken a carrot, blows up black balloons and stuffs them in Smko’s clothing so they look like bulging tumors.
From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
Quickly, she stuffs the bills in his pocket.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Listening to music and podcasts on the move without having earbuds stuffed into my ears felt safer.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The Trailblazers pushed back and stuffed the play, ending the half with a 28-3 advantage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Rita remembered that the shorter man had stuffed them inside his coat while he was yelling for the money.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Their warehouses are stuffed with barrels of aging spirits that were laid down in good times that no one wants to drink anymore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
He stuffed the purifying herbs and birch-bast wrapping into the neck of his parka, and looked down at what Renn had made for him in the night.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The point is to notice that stuffing, stripped of its ceremonial duties, is an exceptionally forgiving way to turn bread and whatever else you have into dinner.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Users were targeted by a so-called "credential stuffing" attack in which hackers used passwords exposed in previous breaches to access 23andMe accounts for which people had used similar credentials.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Why is everyone suddenly stuffing their screens with dizzying amounts of data?
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
So he began typing up a summary of the top headlines and stuffing copies in people’s mailboxes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2026
Grabbing their supplies and stuffing them into Otto’s backpack, they darted to where they’d laid their bikes in the street.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
