STUFF

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does stuff mean? 

• STUFF (noun)
  The noun STUFF has 7 senses:

1. the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object

2. miscellaneous unspecified objects

3. informal terms for personal possessions

4. senseless talk

5. unspecified qualities required to do or be something

6. information in some unspecified form

7. a critically important or characteristic component

  Familiarity information: STUFF used as a noun is common.

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

1. cram into a cavity

2. press or force

3. obstruct

4. overeat or eat immodestly; make a pig of oneself

5. treat with grease, fill, and prepare for mounting

6. fill tightly with a material

7. fill with a stuffing while cooking

  Familiarity information: STUFF used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STUFF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

material; stuff

Context example:

wheat is the stuff they use to make bread

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

substance (the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists)

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

impregnation (material with which something is impregnated)

contaminant; contamination (a substance that contaminates)

particulate; particulate matter (a small discrete mass of solid or liquid matter that remains individually dispersed in gas or liquid emissions (usually considered to be an atmospheric pollutant))

dust (free microscopic particles of solid material)

elastomer (any of various elastic materials that resemble rubber (resumes its original shape when a deforming force is removed))

earth; ground (the loose soft material that makes up a large part of the land surface)

discharge; emission (a substance that is emitted or released)

detritus (loose material (stone fragments and silt etc) that is worn away from rocks)

waste; waste material; waste matter; waste product (any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted)

fiber; fibre (a slender and greatly elongated substance capable of being spun into yarn)

fill; filling (any material that fills a space or container)

foam (a lightweight material in cellular form; made by introducing gas bubbles during manufacture)

homogenate (material that has been homogenized (especially tissue that has been ground and mixed))

humate (material that is high in humic acids)

paper (a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses)

packing; packing material; wadding (any material used especially to protect something)

color; coloring material; colour; colouring material (any material used for its color)

plant material; plant substance (material derived from plants)

radioactive material (material that is radioactive)

thickener; thickening (any material used to thicken)

toner (a black or colored powder used in a printer to develop a xerographic image)

translucent substance; transparent substance (a material having the property of admitting light diffusely; a partly transparent material)

undercut (the material removed by a cut made underneath)

builder; detergent builder (a substance added to soaps or detergents to increase their cleansing action)

vernix; vernix caseosa (a white cheeselike protective material that covers the skin of a fetus)

wad (a small mass of soft material)

conductor (a substance that readily conducts e.g. electricity and heat)

ballast (any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship)

bedding; bedding material; litter (material used to provide a bed for animals)

rind (the natural outer covering of food (usually removed before eating))

recycling (used or abandoned materials for use in creating new products)

precursor (a substance from which another substance is formed (especially by a metabolic reaction))

atom; corpuscle; molecule; mote; particle; speck ((nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything)

ammunition (any nuclear or chemical or biological material that can be used as a weapon of mass destruction)

floc; floccule (a small loosely aggregated mass of flocculent material suspended in or precipitated from a liquid)

HAZMAT (an abbreviation for 'hazardous material' used on warning signs)

aggregate (material such as sand or gravel used with cement and water to make concrete, mortar, or plaster)

raw material; staple (material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing)

sorbate (a material that has been or is capable of being taken up by another substance by either absorption or adsorption)

diamagnet (a substance that exhibits diamagnetism)

dielectric; insulator; nonconductor (a material such as glass or porcelain with negligible electrical or thermal conductivity)

composite material (strong lightweight material developed in the laboratory; fibers of more than one kind are bonded together chemically)

chemical; chemical substance (material produced by or used in a reaction involving changes in atoms or molecules)

abradant; abrasive; abrasive material (a substance that abrades or wears down)

bimetal (material made by bonding together sheets of two different metals)

fluff (any light downy material)

animal material (material derived from animals)

sealing material (any substance used to seal joints or fill cracks in a porous surface)

adhesive; adhesive agent; adhesive material (a substance that unites or bonds surfaces together)

rock; stone (material consisting of the aggregate of minerals like those making up the Earth's crust)

mineral (solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical composition)

sorbent; sorbent material (a material that sorbs another substance; i.e. that has the capacity or tendency to take it up by either absorption or adsorption)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Miscellaneous unspecified objects

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

the trunk was full of stuff

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

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

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

etcetera (additional unspecified odds and ends; more of the same)

doodad; doohickey; doojigger; gimmick; gismo; gizmo; gubbins; thingamabob; thingamajig; thingmabob; thingmajig; thingumabob; thingumajig; thingummy; whatchamacallit; whatchamacallum; whatsis; widget (something unspecified whose name is either forgotten or not known)

sundries (miscellaneous objects too numerous or too small to be specified)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Informal terms for personal possessions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

clobber; stuff

Context example:

did you take all your clobber?

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

personal estate; personal property; personalty; private property (movable property (as distinguished from real estate))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Senseless talk

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

hooey; poppycock; stuff; stuff and nonsense

Context example:

don't give me that stuff

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

bunk; hokum; meaninglessness; nonsense; nonsensicality (a message that seems to convey no meaning)

Domain usage:

argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Unspecified qualities required to do or be something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

you don't have the stuff to be a United States Marine

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

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Information in some unspecified form

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

there's good stuff in that book

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

info; information (a message received and understood)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A critically important or characteristic component

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

suspense is the very stuff of narrative

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

center; centre; core; essence; gist; heart; heart and soul; inwardness; kernel; marrow; meat; nitty-gritty; nub; pith; substance; sum (the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience)

• STUFF (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cram into a cavity

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

The child stuffed candy into his pockets

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

cram (put something somewhere so that the space is completely filled)

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

chock up; cram; jam; jampack; ram; wad (crowd or pack to capacity)

overstuff (stuff too much)

fill out; pad (line or stuff with soft material)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP
Somebody ----s something with something

Sentence example:

They stuff the cart with boxes

Sense 2

Meaning:

Press or force

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

shove; squeeze; stuff; thrust

Context example:

She thrust the letter into his hand

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

force; push (move with force)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

They stuff the books into the box

Sense 3

Meaning:

Obstruct

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

block; choke up; lug; stuff

Context example:

Her arteries are blocked

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

back up; choke; choke off; clog; clog up; congest; foul (become or cause to become obstructed)

Sentence frames:

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

Antonym:

unstuff (cause to become unblocked)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Overeat or eat immodestly; make a pig of oneself

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

binge; englut; engorge; glut; gorge; gormandise; gormandize; gourmandize; ingurgitate; overeat; overgorge; overindulge; pig out; satiate; scarf out; stuff

Context example:

The kids binged on ice cream

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

eat (eat a meal; take a meal)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sense 5

Meaning:

Treat with grease, fill, and prepare for mounting

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

stuff a bearskin

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

impregnate; saturate (infuse or fill completely)

"Stuff" entails doing...:

tan (treat skins and hides with tannic acid so as to convert them into leather)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Fill tightly with a material

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

stuff a pillow with feathers

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

fill; fill up; make full (make full, also in a metaphorical sense)

Verb group:

farce; stuff (fill with a stuffing while cooking)

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

cork (stuff with cork)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP
Somebody ----s something with something

Derivation:

stuffer (a craftsman who stuffs and mounts the skins of animals for display)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Fill with a stuffing while cooking

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

farce; stuff

Context example:

Have you stuffed the turkey yet?

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

fill; fill up; make full (make full, also in a metaphorical sense)

Verb group:

stuff (fill tightly with a material)

Domain category:

cookery; cooking; preparation (the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP
Somebody ----s something with something

Derivation:

stuffing (a mixture of seasoned ingredients used to stuff meats and vegetables)

 Context examples 

There was reason for the editors refusing his stuff.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"Of course he's stuffed," replied Dorothy, who was still angry.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"That dog of yourn won't let me lay a finger on your stuff."

(White Fang, by Jack London)

He sat in his usual place and attitude like a great stuffed figure.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

"And is that stuff you have put there going to do it?" asked Quincey.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Of course you expect two brothers to be alike, but not that they should have the same tooth stuffed in the same way.

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

That villainous stuff seems still to linger round my throat.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Our tailors are good, cried my uncle, but our stuffs lack taste and variety.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Every time I brought the stuff back, there would be another paper telling me to return it, because it was not pure, and another order to a different firm.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

And then, making a great effort: Shipmates, he cried, I'm here to get that stuff, and I'll not be beat by man or devil.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)