Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

tuck1

[tuhk]
See more synonyms for tuck on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to put into a small, close, or concealing place: Tuck the money into your wallet.
  2. to thrust in the loose end or edge of (a garment, covering, etc.) so as to hold closely in place (usually followed by in, up, under, etc.): Tuck in your blouse. Tuck the edge of the sheet under the mattress.
  3. to cover snugly in or as if in this manner: She tucked the children into bed.
  4. to pull up into a fold or folds; draw up into a folded arrangement (usually followed by in, up, etc.): to tuck up one's skirts; to tuck one's knees under one's chin.
  5. Needlework. to sew tucks in.
  6. to pass (a strand) above or below another one.
  7. Informal. to eat or drink (usually followed by in, away, etc.): He tucked away a big meal.
Show More
verb (used without object)
  1. to draw together; contract; pucker.
  2. Needlework. to make tucks.
  3. to fit securely or snugly: a bed that tucks into the corner.
Show More
noun
  1. something tucked or folded in.
  2. Sewing. a fold, or one of a series of folds, made by doubling cloth upon itself and stitching parallel with the edge of the fold, used for decoration or for shortening or fitting a garment.
  3. Diving, Gymnastics. a body position in which the head is lowered and the thighs held against the chest with the knees bent and the arms locked around the shins.Compare layout(def 10), pike7.
  4. Skiing. a crouch in which the ski poles are held close to the chest, extending back under the arms and parallel to the ground, as to maximize speed downhill.
  5. Informal. a plastic surgery operation: a tummy tuck.
  6. Nautical. the part of a vessel where the after ends of the outside planking or plating unite at the sternpost.
  7. (in tying knots) the operation of passing one strand above or below another.
  8. British Slang. food.
Show More
Verb Phrases
  1. tuck into, to eat with gusto: We tucked into a roast beef dinner.
Show More

Origin of tuck1

before 900; Middle English t(o)uken to stretch (cloth), torment, Old English tūcian to torment; akin to Middle Low German tucken to tug, German zucken to jerk. See tow1
Related formsun·tucked, adjective

tuck2

[tuhk]
noun Informal.
  1. tuxedo.
Show More

Origin of tuck2

by shortening and respelling

tuck3

[tuhk]
noun Archaic.
  1. a rapier or estoc.
Show More

Origin of tuck3

1500–10; earlier tocke, apparently sandhi variant of obsolete stock sword < Italian stocco < German Stock stick; cognate with stock

tuck4

[tuhk]
noun Chiefly Scot.
  1. a drumbeat or the sound of one beat on a drum.
Show More

Origin of tuck4

1300–50; Middle English tukken to beat, sound (said of a drum) < Middle French (north) toker to strike, touch. See touch
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tuck

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for tuck

tuck1

verb
  1. (tr) to push or fold into a small confined space or concealed place or between two surfacesto tuck a letter into an envelope
  2. (tr) to thrust the loose ends or sides of (something) into a confining space, so as to make neat and secureto tuck the sheets under the mattress
  3. to make a tuck or tucks in (a garment)
  4. (usually tr) to draw together, contract, or pucker
Show More
noun
  1. a tucked object or part
  2. a pleat or fold in a part of a garment, usually stitched down so as to make it a better fit or as decoration
  3. the part of a vessel where the after ends of the planking or plating meet at the sternpost
  4. British
    1. an informal or schoolchild's word for food, esp cakes and sweets
    2. (as modifier)a tuck box
  5. a position of the body in certain dives in which the legs are bent with the knees drawn up against the chest and tightly clasped
Show More
See also tuck away, tuck in

Word Origin

C14: from Old English tūcian to torment; related to Middle Dutch tucken to tug, Old High German zucchen to twitch

tuck2

noun
  1. archaic a rapier
Show More

Word Origin

C16: from French estoc sword, from Old French: tree trunk, sword, of Germanic origin

tuck3

noun
  1. a touch, blow, or stroke
Show More
verb
  1. (tr) to touch or strike
  2. (intr) to throb or bump
Show More

Word Origin

C16: from Middle English tukken to beat a drum, from Old Northern French toquer to touch; compare tucket

Tuck

noun
  1. See Friar Tuck
Show More
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 tuck

v.

late 14c., "to pull or gather up," earlier "to pluck, stretch" (late 13c., implied in tucker), probably from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch tucken "pull up, draw up, tug" (cognate with Old English tucian "mistreat, torment," and related to Old English togian "to pull," German zucken; see tow). Sense of "thrust into a snug place" is first recorded 1580s. Slang meaning "to consume, swallow" is recorded from 1784. The noun is first attested late 14c.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with tuck

tuck

In addition to the idioms beginning with tuck

  • tuck away
  • tuck in
  • tuck into

also see:

  • nip and tuck
Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.