stuffs

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of stuff.

   The chef stuffs each pepper with rice and spiced meat.

   She stuffs the envelopes by hand before mailing the invitations.

   Note

   Spelled exactly like the plural of the noun, this form follows he, she, it or a singular noun. Nearly every use takes a direct object, often with a with-phrase naming the filling. The reflexive pattern is the one worth knowing: someone who stuffs himself or herself is eating heartily or greedily, not packing a container, and the object is the eater's own self.

   Every holiday he stuffs himself with cake until he can barely move.

   She stuffs herself at the buffet and skips dinner afterward.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of stuff.

   The merchant traded in fine stuffs imported from across the sea.

   Coarse stuffs were used for everyday garments, finer ones for special occasions.

   Note

   A plural that the everyday noun rarely needs. When stuff means miscellaneous things or unspecified matters, it stays a mass noun: you pack your stuff, not your stuffs. The plural comes into its own with the older textile meaning, where stuffs are distinct kinds of woven cloth, especially woolens. That use now sounds archaic, so in modern prose stuffs usually lends a period flavor, as in a merchant dealing in fine stuffs.

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