Word Origin
See more synonyms for sucker on Thesaurus.com a person or thing that sucks . Informal a person easily cheated, deceived, or imposed upon. an infant or a young animal that is suckled, especially a suckling pig. a part or organ of an animal adapted for sucking nourishment, or for adhering to an object as by suction . any of several freshwater, mostly North American food fishes of the family Catostomidae, having thick lips: some are now rare. Informal a lollipop. the piston of a pump that works by suction , or the valve of such a piston. a pipe or tube through which something is drawn or sucked . Botany a shoot rising from a subterranean stem or root. Informal a person attracted to something as indicated: He's a sucker for new clothes. 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. Show More
Slang to make a sucker of; fool; hoodwink: another person suckered by a con artist. Show More
verb (used without object) to send out suckers or shoots, as a plant. Show More
Origin of sucker 1350–1400; 1835–45 for def 2 ;
Middle English; see
suck ,
-er1 Related forms suck·er·like , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for suckered fool ,
feign ,
purport ,
assume ,
impersonate ,
bluff ,
profess ,
entice ,
beguile ,
persuade ,
betray ,
deceive ,
delude ,
extort ,
fleece ,
hoodwink ,
bilk ,
gouge ,
dupe ,
overcharge British Dictionary definitions for suckered a person or thing that sucks slang a person who is easily deceived or swindled slang a person who cannot resist the attractions of a particular type of person or thing he's a sucker for blondes a young animal that is not yet weaned, esp a suckling pig zoology an organ that is specialized for sucking or adhering a cup-shaped device, generally made of rubber, that may be attached to articles allowing them to adhere to a surface by suction botany a strong shoot that arises in a mature plant from a root, rhizome, or the base of the main stem a short branch of a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from the host a pipe or tube through which a fluid is drawn by suction any small mainly North American cyprinoid fish of the family Catostomidae, having toothless jaws and a large sucking mouth any of certain fishes that have sucking discs, esp the clingfish or sea snail a piston in a suction pump or the valve in such a piston Show More
(tr) to strip off the suckers from (a plant) (intr) (of a plant) to produce suckers Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for suckered n. "young mammal before it is weaned," late 14c., agent noun from suck . Slang meaning "person who is easily deceived" is first attested 1836, American English, on notion of naivete; the verb in this sense is from 1939. But another theory traces the slang meaning to the fish called a sucker (1753), on the notion of being easy to catch in their annual migrations. Meaning "lollipop" is from 1823.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
A part by which an animal sucks blood from or uses suction to cling to another animal. Leeches and remoras have suckers. 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. Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
