sucker

[suhk-er]

noun

1. a person or thing that sucks.

2. Informal.,  a person easily cheated, deceived, or imposed upon.

3. an infant or a young animal that is suckled, especially a suckling pig.

4. a part or organ of an animal adapted for sucking sucking nourishment, or for adhering to an object as by suction.

5. any of several freshwater, mostly North American food fishes of the family Catostomidae, having thick lips: some are now rare.

6. Informal.,  a lollipop.

7. the piston of a pump that works by suction, or the valve of such a piston.

8. a pipe or tube through which something is drawn or sucked.

9. Botany.,  a shoot rising from a subterranean stem or root.

10. Informal.,  a person attracted to something as indicated.

    He's a sucker for new clothes.

11. Slang.,  any person or thing.

    He's one of those smart, handsome suckers everybody likes. They're good boots, but the suckers pinch my feet.

verb (used with object)

1. Slang.,  to make a sucker of; fool; hoodwink.

   another person suckered by a con artist.

verb (used without object)

1. to send out suckers or shoots, as a plant.

sucker

/ ˈsʌkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that sucks

2. slang,  a person who is easily deceived or swindled

3. slang,  a person who cannot resist the attractions of a particular type of person or thing

   he's a sucker for blondes

4. a young animal that is not yet weaned, esp a suckling pig

5. zoology an organ that is specialized for sucking or adhering

6. a cup-shaped device, generally made of rubber, that may be attached to articles allowing them to adhere to a surface by suction

7. botany

   1. a strong shoot that arises in a mature plant from a root, rhizome, or the base of the main stem

   2. a short branch of a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from the host

8. a pipe or tube through which a fluid is drawn by suction

9. any small mainly North American cyprinoid fish of the family Catostomidae, having toothless jaws and a large sucking mouth

10. any of certain fishes that have sucking discs, esp the clingfish or sea snail

11. a piston in a suction pump or the valve in such a piston

verb

1. (tr) to strip off the suckers from (a plant)

2. (intr) (of a plant) to produce suckers

sucker

1. A part by which an animal sucks blood from or uses suction to cling to another animal. Leeches and remoras have suckers.

2. A shoot growing from the base or root of a tree or shrub and giving rise to a new plant, a clone of the plant from which it comes. The growth of suckers is a form of asexual reproduction.

Other Word Forms

• suckerlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sucker¹

1350–1400; 1835–45 sucker for def. 2; Middle English; suck, -er ¹

Example Sentences

By contrast, “Shadow Ticket” offers a wildly seductive overture, a companionable but occasionally slack midsection, and a haunting sucker punch of an ending.

From Los Angeles Times

And I’m a sucker for a sour beverage, alcoholic or not.

From Salon

But then, can’t expect any better from a man who thinks American war dead are ‘suckers’ and ‘losers.’

From Salon

Setbacks are inevitable in sport, but the brutal nature of the first major sucker punch of Keely Hodgkinson's career is that it followed the pinnacle.

From BBC

The narrative is less sucker punch than brilliant feints and jabs.

From Los Angeles Times