suck
suck Lexical Profile
suck Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To draw liquid or air into the mouth by contracting the muscles of the lips and cheeks to create a partial vacuum.
"She used a paper straw to suck the cold lemonade from the glass."
To hold something in the mouth and draw at it continuously with the tongue and lips, such as a hard candy or thumb.
"The toddler continued to suck his thumb whenever he felt sleepy."
To pull, draw, or absorb something forcefully in a specified direction by or as if by suction.
"The powerful vacuum cleaner can suck dust and debris right out of the thick carpet."
To be very bad, disagreeable, or of extremely poor quality (informal slang).
"It really sucks that our flight was canceled right before the holiday."
• noun
An act of drawing liquid or air into the mouth by creating a partial vacuum.
"The baby took a gentle suck from the bottle before falling asleep."
A force that pulls or draws something inward like a whirlpool or vacuum.
"Wading into the marsh, he felt the strong suck of the mud around his boots."
Word Nuance & Usage
While its physical sense (drawing in liquid or air) is completely standard across all registers, its intransitive meaning 'to be terrible or unpleasant' is informal slang and should be avoided in formal or academic writing.
• Rhymes for suck
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English sūcan ('to suck, draw in liquid with the mouth'), of West Germanic origin and related to Latin sūgere ('to suck') and sūcus ('juice').