TUCK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tuck mean? 

• TUCK (noun)
  The noun TUCK has 4 senses:

1. eatables (especially sweets)

2. (sports) a bodily position adopted in some sports (such as diving or skiing) in which the knees are bent and the thighs are drawn close to the chest

3. a narrow flattened pleat or fold that is stitched in place

4. a straight sword with a narrow blade and two edges

  Familiarity information: TUCK used as a noun is uncommon.

• TUCK (verb)
  The verb TUCK has 3 senses:

1. fit snugly into

2. make a tuck or several folds in

3. draw together into folds or puckers

  Familiarity information: TUCK used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TUCK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Eatables (especially sweets)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

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

comestible; eatable; edible; pabulum; victual; victuals (any substance that can be used as food)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(sports) a bodily position adopted in some sports (such as diving or skiing) in which the knees are bent and the thighs are drawn close to the chest

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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

attitude; position; posture (the arrangement of the body and its limbs)

Domain category:

athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A narrow flattened pleat or fold that is stitched in place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

plait; pleat (any of various types of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and then pressing or stitching into shape)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tuck"):

dart (a tapered tuck made in dressmaking)

Derivation:

tuck (draw together into folds or puckers)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A straight sword with a narrow blade and two edges

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

rapier; tuck

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

blade; brand; steel; sword (a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard)

• TUCK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they tuck    ... he / she / it tucks   
Past simple: tucked   
Past participle: tucked   
-ing form: tucking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fit snugly into

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

insert; tuck

Context example:

tuck your shirttail in

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

close in; enclose; inclose; shut in (surround completely)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

They tuck the books into the box

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a tuck or several folds in

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

tuck in the sheet

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

fold; fold up; turn up (bend or lay so that one part covers the other)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

tucker (a sewer who tucks)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Draw together into folds or puckers

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

gather; pucker; tuck

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

run up; sew; sew together; stitch (fasten by sewing; do needlework)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

tuck (a narrow flattened pleat or fold that is stitched in place)

tucker (a sewer who tucks)

 Context examples 

But she tucked it under her arm with a sharp...

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I left the oar long enough to tuck the blankets about her feet and to pull a single fold across her face.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

With so much going on with Capricorn planets, it is surprising that Mars will be unusually quiet and tucked away in your twelfth house of solitude.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

When we got in, and had washed our feet, and had said a prayer of thankfulness together, I tucked her into bed.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“Certainly, sir,” said Baker, who had risen and tucked his newly gained property under his arm.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

By that time she was tired of walking, and sat by the fire with her dress tucked up as usual.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He nodded his head, regarding her thoughtfully as she gathered the torn pieces of manuscript and tucked them into the pocket of her jacket—ocular evidence of the success of her mission.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It was indeed a tall and buxom country lass, with a basket of spinach-leaves upon her head, and a great slab of bacon tucked under one arm.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Hair cells are spread across a flat surface called the basilar membrane, which is rolled like a carpet and tucked into a snail shell-shaped structure in the inner ear called the cochlea.

(Hearing different frequencies, NIH)

He had gone out before breakfast, and I had sat down to mine when he strode into the room, his hat upon his head and a huge barbed-headed spear tucked like an umbrella under his arm.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)