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suck

Pronunciation: /sʌk/
Translate suck | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of suck

verb

  • 1 [with object] draw into the mouth by contracting the muscles of the lips and mouth to make a partial vacuum:they suck mint juleps through straws he sucked in air between sentences
  • hold (something) in the mouth and draw at it by contracting the lip and cheek muscles:she sucked a mint [no object]:the child sucked on her thumb
  • draw fluid from (something) into the mouth by suction:she sucked each segment of the orange carefully
  • [with object and adverbial of direction] draw in a specified direction by creating a vacuum:he was sucked under the surface of the river
  • [no object] (of a pump) make a gurgling sound as a result of drawing air instead of water.
  • 2 [with object] involve (someone) in something without their choosing:I didn’t want to be sucked into the role of dutiful daughter
  • 3 [no object] North American informal be very bad or unpleasant:I love your country but your weather sucks
    [by association with vulgar slang suckhole]

noun

  • an act of sucking something: the fish draws the bait into its mouth with a strong suck
  • the sound made by water retreating and drawing at something:the soft suck of the sea against the sand

exclamation

(sucks) British informal
  • used to express derision and defiance:sucks to them!

Phrases

give suck

archaic give milk from the breast or teat; suckle.

suck someone dry

exhaust someone’s physical, material, or emotional resources: the new company is sucking them dry of technical expertise

suck it and see

British informal used to suggest that the only way to know if something will work or be suitable is to try it: for other baits, and for different waters, it is a case of suck it and see

suck it up

US informal accept something unpleasant or difficult.

Phrasal Verbs

suck someone in

cheat or deceive someone:we were sucked in by his charm and good looks

suck someone off

vulgar slang perform fellatio on someone.

suck up

informal behave obsequiously, especially for one’s own advantage:he has risen to where he is mainly by sucking up to the president

Origin:

Old English sūcan (verb), from an Indo-European imitative root; related to soak

suck in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of suck in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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