suck

[suhk]

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verb (used with object)

to draw into the mouth by producing a partial vacuum by action of the lips and tongue: to suck lemonade through a straw.

to draw (water, moisture, air, etc.) by or as if by suction: Plants suck moisture from the earth. The pump sucked water from the basement.

to apply the lips or mouth to and draw upon by producing a partial vacuum, especially for extracting fluid contents: to suck an orange.

to put into the mouth and draw upon: to suck one's thumb.

to take into the mouth and dissolve by the action of the tongue, saliva, etc.: to suck a piece of candy.

to render or bring to a specified condition by or as if by sucking.

verb (used without object)

to draw something in by producing a partial vacuum in the mouth, especially to draw milk from the breast.

to draw or be drawn by or as if by suction.

(of a pump) to draw air instead of water, as when the water is low or a valve is defective.

Slang. to behave in a fawning manner (usually followed by around).

Slang. to be repellent or unpleasant: Poverty sucks.

Slang. to be inferior, as in quality or execution; be poor: Everyone says the show sucks. She sucks at tennis.

noun

an act or instance of sucking.

a sucking force.

the sound produced by sucking.

that which is sucked; nourishment drawn from the breast.

a small drink; sip.

a whirlpool.

Verb Phrases

suck in, Slang. to deceive; cheat; defraud: The confidence man sucked us all in.

suck off, Slang: Vulgar. to fellate.

suck up, Slang. to be obsequious; toady: The workers are all sucking up to him because he's the one who decides who'll get the bonuses.

Idioms

suck face, to engage in soul-kissing.

Origin of suck

before 900; (v.) Middle English souken, Old English sūcan, cognate with Latin sūgere; (noun) Middle English souke act of suckling, derivative of the noun; akin to soak

Related formssuck·less, adjectiveout·suck, verb (used with object)un·sucked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for suck

absorb, inhale, drink, draw, sip, imbibe, engulf, nurse, suction

Examples from the Web for suck

Contemporary Examples of suck

I started a blog called Boo Cancer, You Suck as a safe place for me to process what I was going through.
Blogger Shares and Shames Cancer in ‘Lily’
Amy Grantham
December 9, 2014
They want Lawrence to suck it up and smile for the camera, however retroactively.
Jennifer Lawrence Shouldn’t Laugh Off Her Nude Photo Hack
Samantha Allen
September 2, 2014
Anyone who thinks otherwise, to employ the emotional sophistication of “Shake It Off,” can suck it.
Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ Is Disappointing
Kevin Fallon
August 19, 2014
They were going to suck up this problem and turn into the solution to the other problem, which was the meat shortage.
Mississippi Hippos, Teddy Bears, and Other Strange Beasts
Scott Porch
July 25, 2014
But the declinists struggle to answer this question: If we suck so bad, how come American brands are so valuable and dominant?
Yes We Can Still Market: Why U.S. Brands Remain World’s Most Valuable
Daniel Gross
June 1, 2014

Historical Examples of suck

What do they do but live and suck in sustenance and grow fat?
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Foulon who told my baby it might suck grass, when these breasts were dry with want!
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Aw, my girl, there was a time when I said in my anger I was sorry I gave you suck.
A Singer from the Sea
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
But we have aimed at a swift and petty benefit, to suck a sudden sweetness.
Essays, First Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Let us suck the sweetness of those affections and consuetudes that grow near us.
Essays, First Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson

British Dictionary definitions for suck

suck

verb

to draw (a liquid or other substance) into the mouth by creating a partial vacuum in the mouth

to draw in (fluid, etc) by or as if by a similar actionplants suck moisture from the soil

to drink milk from (a mother's breast); suckle

(tr) to extract fluid content from (a solid food)to suck a lemon

(tr) to take into the mouth and moisten, dissolve, or roll around with the tongueto suck one's thumb

(tr; often foll by down, in, etc) to draw by using irresistible forcethe whirlpool sucked him down

(intr) (of a pump) to draw in air because of a low supply level or leaking valves, pipes, etc

(tr) to assimilate or acquire (knowledge, comfort, etc)

(intr) slang to be contemptible or disgusting

sucking diesel informal doing very well; successful

suck it and see informal to try something to find out what it is, what it is like, or how it works

noun

the act or an instance of sucking

something that is sucked, esp milk from the mother's breast

give suck to to give (a baby or young animal) milk from the breast or udder

an attracting or sucking forcethe suck of the whirlpool was very strong

a sound caused by sucking

See also suck in, suck off, sucks, suck up to

Derived Formssuckless, adjective

Word Origin for suck

Old English sūcan; related to Old Norse súga, Middle Dutch sūgen, Latin sūgere to suck, exhaust; see soak

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

Word Origin and History for suck

Old English sucan, from PIE root *sug-/*suk- of imitative origin (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German sugan, Old Norse suga, Middle Dutch sughen, Dutch zuigen, German saugen "to suck;" Latin sugere "to suck," succus "juice, sap;" Old Irish sugim, Welsh sugno "to suck"). Meaning "do fellatio" is first recorded 1928. Slang sense of "be contemptible" first attested 1971 (the underlying notion is of fellatio). Related: Sucked; sucking. Suck eggs is from 1906. Suck hind tit "be inferior" is American English slang first recorded 1940.