suck

American  

[suhk] / sʌk /

verb (used with object)

• sucks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sucked,
  past participle,  past
• sucking
  present participle

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.

7. Slang: Vulgar. to perform fellatio on (sometimes followed byoff ).

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verb (used without object)

• sucks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sucked,
  past participle,  past
• sucking
  present participle

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 be repellent or unpleasant.

   Poverty sucks.

5. Slang. to be inferior, as in quality or execution; be poor.

   Everyone says the show sucks. She sucks at tennis.

6. Slang. to behave in a fawning manner (usually followed byaround ).

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.

verb phrase

1. suck in to deceive; cheat; defraud.

   The confidence man sucked us all in.

2. suck up 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

1. suck face, to engage in soul-kissing.

suck British  

/ sʌk /

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 action

   plants 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 tongue

   to suck one's thumb

6. (tr; often foll by down, in, etc) to draw by using irresistible force

   the 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. slang (intr) to be contemptible or disgusting

10. informal doing very well; successful

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

4. an attracting or sucking force

   the suck of the whirlpool was very strong

5. a sound caused by sucking

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outsuck
  verb (used with object)
• suckless
  adjective
• unsucked
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• sucking
  present
• sucked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• suck
  simple
• sucks
  simple
• have sucked
  perfect
• has sucked
  perfect
• am sucking
  progressive
• are sucking
  progressive
• is sucking
  progressive
• have been sucking
  perfect progressive
• has been sucking
  perfect progressive

Past

• sucked
  simple
• had sucked
  perfect
• was sucking
  progressive
• were sucking
  progressive
• had been sucking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will suck
  simple
• will have sucked
  perfect
• will be sucking
  progressive
• will have been sucking
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of suck

First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English souken, Old English sūcan, cognate with Latin sūgere; (noun) Middle English souke “act of suckling,” derivative of the noun; akin to soak

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Explanation

To suck is to draw something by force. Vacuum cleaners suck dirt from the floor and milkshake drinkers suck this liquid, tasty liquid through a straw. Drinking something by pulling it into your mouth is to suck it. You can also suck on something, like a peppermint or a thumb, by holding it in your mouth. Objects can suck too — a fan sucks warm air out the window. You can also suck someone into your plans, meaning you force them to participate. The word suck comes from the Proto-Indo-European sug, from the sound your mouth makes when you suck on something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

suck sucks sucked sucking

I knew who they were; I’d heard the single on WNYU, maybe for once the opening band wouldn’t suck.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

“You just have to suck it up and be a man about it,” said Hülkenberg, the Audi driver.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

A proposed Roomba-like device to suck ticks out of the grass probably does not.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

The problem is, if performance fees actually worked in financial management, then hedge funds — which are already free to charge them — wouldn’t suck.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

We take off side by side, but as soon as we start running uphill, the air seems to thicken and I can barely suck it in.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Plus, his music sucks, and most people would find it impossible that useful public discourse would ever emerge from an Ed Sheeran concert.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

“One of the biggest reasons why people think renting sucks is because they’re not being strategic about it,” she said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

In nearly a decade I have never had a student say: You know what really sucks?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

“It sucks to lose, but there’s a part of me that’s proud that I get to wear Dodger blue.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

After all, zero multiplied by anything is zero; it sucks everything into itself.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Fixating on my fishing rod, I had allowed the idling machine to bottom out in the shell spoil, some of which got sucked into the intake.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

So much gas was released that some was sucked back into the engine rooms through ventilation shafts, triggering gas detector alarms.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Hendry's red card was a grim moment that sucked the life out of the occasion.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Everyone has sucked it up to go to the wedding of a couple they disapprove of, or a family dinner that will inevitably turn into an argument.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

He sucked air in, closing his eyes as he did.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

The process, guided by the app, is relatively straightforward: fill the test with saliva by sucking on it for 60 seconds, wait 20 minutes, scan the test, get results.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

It is also sucking money away from government bonds toward the AI labs developing new models and “hyperscalers” building out data centers, adding further upward pressure on government bond yields.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Some species can have as many as 12 legs, along with a sucking proboscis used for feeding.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

Scientists from Griffith University in Australia found unusual patterns in the skeletal remains of early human foragers, which they linked to the sucking of betel nuts.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

I make a vacuum sucking noise and they laugh.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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