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 sucks

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

Examples from the Web for sucks

Contemporary Examples of sucks

Republicans need to rebuild their brand, which Rand Paul said quite graphically “sucks.”
Can Obama and a Republican Senate Find Common Ground?
Eleanor Clift
November 4, 2014
Today, she takes the formula from me and sucks down every last drop of liquid like a desert-thirsty nomad.
When An Adopted Child Won’t Attach
Tina Traster
May 2, 2014
Or to put it another if equally inadequate way: Whatever comes next, sucks.
Comedy Is His Calling: The Brilliance of Billy Crystal
Tom Shales
April 18, 2014
In January, the Shreveport Times reported that McAllister said that his job "sucks [and] it ain't no fun."
Duck Dynasty Congressman In Sex Scandal
Ben Jacobs
April 7, 2014
The more he talks, the more he sucks, and viewers and critics have been hopping off the Juan wagon.
Juan Pablo Has Ruined ‘The Bachelor’
Brandy Zadrozny
February 11, 2014

Historical Examples of sucks

The tobacco smoke eddies and sucks upward to join the wood smoke.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White
He sucks in everything that is weird or adventurous or wild.
Danger! and Other Stories
Arthur Conan Doyle
"It sucks in its food through the tiniest holes in its leaves," he answered.
At the Back of the North Wind
George MacDonald
Do you mean to tell me, Mr. Vivian, that she sucks it still?
The Prophet of Berkeley Square
Robert Hichens
The printed book, the gnawing worm of the edifice, sucks and devours it.
Notre-Dame de Paris
Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for sucks

sucks

interjection slang

an expression of disappointment

an exclamation of defiance or derision (esp in the phrase yah boo sucks to you)

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 sucks

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.