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suck

[suhk]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to draw into the mouth by producing a partial vacuum by action of the lips and tongue: to suck lemonade through a straw.
  2. 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.
  3. to apply the lips or mouth to and draw upon by producing a partial vacuum, especially for extracting fluid contents: to suck an orange.
  4. to put into the mouth and draw upon: to suck one's thumb.
  5. to take into the mouth and dissolve by the action of the tongue, saliva, etc.: to suck a piece of candy.
  6. to render or bring to a specified condition by or as if by sucking.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to draw something in by producing a partial vacuum in the mouth, especially to draw milk from the breast.
  2. to draw or be drawn by or as if by suction.
  3. (of a pump) to draw air instead of water, as when the water is low or a valve is defective.
  4. Slang. to behave in a fawning manner (usually followed by around).
  5. Slang. to be repellent or unpleasant: Poverty sucks.
  6. Slang. to be inferior, as in quality or execution; be poor: Everyone says the show sucks. She sucks at tennis.
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noun
  1. an act or instance of sucking.
  2. a sucking force.
  3. the sound produced by sucking.
  4. that which is sucked; nourishment drawn from the breast.
  5. a small drink; sip.
  6. a whirlpool.
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Verb Phrases
  1. suck in, Slang. to deceive; cheat; defraud: The confidence man sucked us all in.
  2. suck off, Slang: Vulgar. to fellate.
  3. 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.
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Idioms
  1. suck face, to engage in soul-kissing.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for suck

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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
  1. to draw (a liquid or other substance) into the mouth by creating a partial vacuum in the mouth
  2. to draw in (fluid, etc) by or as if by a similar actionplants suck moisture from the soil
  3. to drink milk from (a mother's breast); suckle
  4. (tr) to extract fluid content from (a solid food)to suck a lemon
  5. (tr) to take into the mouth and moisten, dissolve, or roll around with the tongueto suck one's thumb
  6. (tr; often foll by down, in, etc) to draw by using irresistible forcethe whirlpool sucked him down
  7. (intr) (of a pump) to draw in air because of a low supply level or leaking valves, pipes, etc
  8. (tr) to assimilate or acquire (knowledge, comfort, etc)
  9. (intr) slang to be contemptible or disgusting
  10. sucking diesel informal doing very well; successful
  11. suck it and see informal to try something to find out what it is, what it is like, or how it works
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noun
  1. the act or an instance of sucking
  2. something that is sucked, esp milk from the mother's breast
  3. give suck to to give (a baby or young animal) milk from the breast or udder
  4. an attracting or sucking forcethe suck of the whirlpool was very strong
  5. a sound caused by sucking
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See also suck in, suck off, sucks, suck up to
Derived Formssuckless, adjective

Word Origin

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

v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper