tuck

[tuhk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tuck ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to put into a small, close, or concealing place: Tuck the money into your wallet.

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.

to cover snugly in or as if in this manner: She tucked the children into bed.

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.

Needlework. to sew tucks in.

to pass (a strand) above or below another one.

Informal. to eat or drink (usually followed by in, away, etc.): He tucked away a big meal.

verb (used without object)

to draw together; contract; pucker.

Needlework. to make tucks.

to fit securely or snugly: a bed that tucks into the corner.

noun

something tucked or folded in.

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.

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.

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.

Informal. a plastic surgery operation: a tummy tuck.

Nautical. the part of a vessel where the after ends of the outside planking or plating unite at the sternpost.

(in tying knots) the operation of passing one strand above or below another.

British Slang. food.

Verb Phrases

tuck into, to eat with gusto: We tucked into a roast beef dinner.

Origin of tuck

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

tuck

[tuhk]

noun Informal.

tuxedo.

Origin of tuck

by shortening and respelling

tuck

[tuhk]

noun Archaic.

a rapier or estoc.

Origin of tuck

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

tuck

⁴

[tuhk]

noun Chiefly Scot.

a drumbeat or the sound of one beat on a drum.

Origin of tuck

⁴

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. 2019

Related Words for tuck

wrap, insert, pinch, swaddle, enfold, pleat, gather, contract, plait, seam, push, hem, constrict

Examples from the Web for tuck

Contemporary Examples of tuck

She will then, at a time of her choosing, tuck it, say, into my carry-on bag just before I leave on a research trip.
How I Write: Erik Larson Revisits ‘Isaac’s Storm’
Noah Charney
October 31, 2012
Mount Saint Vincent and Tuck provided me with both an excellent education and a group of lifelong friends.
Industry Trailblazer to Aspiring Women Pros: Stand Up and Be Counted
Daily Beast Promotions
November 14, 2011
Following college, I was encouraged to apply to The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Industry Trailblazer to Aspiring Women Pros: Stand Up and Be Counted
Daily Beast Promotions
November 14, 2011
The hair is more reddish these days, and he likes to tuck under a black calf-skin hat.
Robert Redford on Sundance and His Future
Nicole LaPorte
January 22, 2011
You wrap the fabric around yourself once, tuck the top into your half-slip, fold a few pleats, and tuck them into the same slip.
My Mother's Last Sari
Madhulika Sikka
May 7, 2010

Historical Examples of tuck

Let it go and tuck in your handkerchief like the rest of us.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The skirt was long enough to tuck around her baby's feet when she carried it.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
Why, Tuck, dost thou not know of my ill happening with my father's steward?
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle
When I tuck him up, he grabbed me round the neck and dug his little face into mine.
Southern Lights and Shadows
Various
You can tuck up the sleeves, and we will catch crayfishes again.
Abbe Mouret's Transgression
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for tuck

tuck

verb

(tr) to push or fold into a small confined space or concealed place or between two surfacesto tuck a letter into an envelope

(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

to make a tuck or tucks in (a garment)

(usually tr) to draw together, contract, or pucker

noun

a tucked object or part

a pleat or fold in a part of a garment, usually stitched down so as to make it a better fit or as decoration

the part of a vessel where the after ends of the planking or plating meet at the sternpost

British

an informal or schoolchild's word for food, esp cakes and sweets
(as modifier)a tuck box

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

Word Origin for tuck

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

tuck

noun

archaic a rapier

Word Origin for tuck

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

tuck

noun

a touch, blow, or stroke

verb

(tr) to touch or strike

(intr) to throb or bump

Word Origin for tuck

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

Tuck

noun

See Friar Tuck

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

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.

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