SUCK

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does suck mean? 

• SUCK (noun)
  The noun SUCK has 1 sense:

1. the act of sucking

  Familiarity information: SUCK used as a noun is very rare.

• SUCK (verb)
  The verb SUCK has 7 senses:

1. draw into the mouth by creating a practical vacuum in the mouth

2. draw something in by or as if by a vacuum

3. attract by using an inexorable force, inducement, etc.

4. be inadequate or objectionable

5. provide sexual gratification through oral stimulation

6. take in, also metaphorically

7. give suck to

  Familiarity information: SUCK used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUCK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of sucking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

suck; sucking; suction

Hypernyms ("suck" is a kind of...):

consumption; ingestion; intake; uptake (the process of taking food into the body through the mouth (as by eating))

Derivation:

suck (give suck to)

suck (take in, also metaphorically)

suck (draw something in by or as if by a vacuum)

suck (attract by using an inexorable force, inducement, etc.)

suck (draw into the mouth by creating a practical vacuum in the mouth)

• SUCK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they suck    ... he / she / it sucks   
Past simple: sucked   
Past participle: sucked   
-ing form: sucking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Draw into the mouth by creating a practical vacuum in the mouth

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Context example:

the baby sucked on the mother's breast

Hypernyms (to "suck" is one way to...):

drink; imbibe (take in liquids)

Verb group:

breastfeed; give suck; lactate; nurse; suck; suckle; wet-nurse (give suck to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Also:

suck in (take up as if with a sponge)

Derivation:

suction; sucking (the act of sucking)

sucker (a drinker who sucks (as at a nipple or through a straw))

suck (the act of sucking)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Draw something in by or as if by a vacuum

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

Mud was sucking at her feet

Hypernyms (to "suck" is one way to...):

draw; take out (take liquid out of a container or well)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

suck; suction (the act of sucking)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Attract by using an inexorable force, inducement, etc.

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Synonyms:

suck; suck in

Context example:

The current boom in the economy sucked many workers in from abroad

Hypernyms (to "suck" is one way to...):

absorb; take in (suck or take up or in)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

suck; suction (the act of sucking)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be inadequate or objectionable

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

blow; suck

Context example:

this blows!

Hypernyms (to "suck" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 5

Meaning:

Provide sexual gratification through oral stimulation

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

blow; fellate; go down on; suck

Hypernyms (to "suck" is one way to...):

excite; stimulate; stir (stir feelings in)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 6

Meaning:

Take in, also metaphorically

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

absorb; draw; imbibe; soak up; sop up; suck; suck up; take in; take up

Context example:

She drew strength from the minister's words

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "suck"):

mop; mop up; wipe up (to wash or wipe with or as if with a mop)

blot (dry (ink) with blotting paper)

sponge up (absorb as if with a sponge)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Also:

suck in (draw in as if by suction)

Derivation:

suck (the act of sucking)

sucker (a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Give suck to

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

breastfeed; give suck; lactate; nurse; suck; suckle; wet-nurse

Context example:

You cannot nurse your baby in public in some places

Hypernyms (to "suck" is one way to...):

feed; give (give food to)

Verb group:

suck (draw into the mouth by creating a practical vacuum in the mouth)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

suck (the act of sucking)

sucker (an organ specialized for sucking nourishment or for adhering to objects by suction)

 Context examples 

Though exact taxonomy is still controversial, they can be grouped in the orders ANOPLURA (sucking lice), MALLOPHAGA (biting lice), and Rhynchophthirina (elephant-lice).

(Lice, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A solid composed of a sugared, medicated candy mounted to a stick, which can be held while sucking or chewing on the candy.

(Lollipop Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

A symptom of gastrointestinal dysfunction seen in neonates who have been exposed to drugs during pregnancy; often accompanied by excessive sucking of fists, fingers and thumbs.

(Excessive Sucking, NCI Thesaurus)

Things you can do include sipping water, avoiding drinks with caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol, and chewing sugarless gum or sucking on sugarless hard candy.

(Dry Mouth, NIH: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Disorders)

Infected blood-sucking bugs, sometimes called kissing bugs, spread it.

(Chagas Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

A large order of insects having a single pair of wings and sucking or piercing mouths; includes true flies and mosquitoes and gnats and crane flies.

(Diptera, NCI Thesaurus)

A solid or semi-solid composed of a lozenge, that contains active and/or inert ingredient(s) that dissolves when sucked in the mouth.

(Pastille Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

Signs and symptoms appear in infancy and include loss of the motor abilities, poor sucking abilities, irritability, lack of muscle tone, and seizures.

(Leigh Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

What do they do but live and suck in sustenance and grow fat?

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But ever he sucked and chewed on the crushed bones of the caribou calf, the least remnants of which he had gathered up and carried with him.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)