suck

Formssucks, sucking, sucked

Pluralsucks

1. 1
   be badverbmildly vulgarcolloquialCanadaUSintransitive

   To be inferior or objectionable; a general term of disparagement, often used with at to point to a particular area of weakness.

   The hotel's Wi-Fi sucked, and the breakfast wasn't much better.

   Honestly, we suck at defense this season.

   UsageAdd at for a weak spot: we suck at defense. Some hear it as rude, so leave it out of formal writing.

   Similarstink

   Oppositerock, rule

   Note

   It takes no object and describes a state: something simply sucks, as in Bucher's "Communism sucks" written under his table, or Hunter S. Thompson's verdict that, as a novel, it sucks. It is chiefly North American, and Garfield's "The Mondays sucked" shows how tame it had become by 1990. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Bucher wrote “Communism sucks” underneath his table. en.wiktionary.org
   • Hunter S. Thompson wrote the assessment “as a novel, it sucks”. en.wiktionary.org
   • Garfield says “The Mondays sucked” in a comic published in 1990. en.wiktionary.org
   • The exact Garfield quotation is “The Mondays sucked”. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   draw out liquidverbtransitive

   To draw a substance out of something, typically by suction, as a leech does blood.

   Leeches suck blood from the animals they attach to.

   The dehumidifier sucked moisture out of the damp basement air.

   UsageUsually names the source with from or out of: suck blood from a host, moisture out of the air.

   Similardraw, extract, pull, siphon

   Note

   Spenser gives this its darkest form in The Faerie Queene (1596): "That she may sucke their life, and drinke their blood." The substance can be as abstract as life itself. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Spenser wrote “That she may sucke their life, and drinke their blood” in The Faerie Queene. emls.artsci.utoronto.ca
   • The Faerie Queene first appeared in 1590. Books IV–VI, including this quotation in Book IV, first appeared in 1596; specify Book IV to retain that date. en.wikisource.org
3. 3
   pull with forceverbtransitive

   To pull something in a particular direction by force, especially without making direct contact with it.

   The jet engine sucked a flock of gulls into its intake.

   Whirlpools suck floating debris toward their centers.

   UsageUsually with a direction: sucked in, sucked out, sucked into the engine. Often passive: was sucked under.

   Similarpull, draw, drag

   Oppositeblow

4. 4
   hold in mouthverbtransitive

   To work the lips and tongue on an object in the mouth to draw out its moisture or nourishment, or to dissolve it slowly.

   He sucked the mango pit clean before tossing it into the grass.

   Desert hikers sometimes suck small pebbles to keep their mouths from feeling dry.

   UsageAlso suck on something: suck on a candy. A common phrase is suck your thumb.

5. 5
   verbtransitive

   To draw liquid into the mouth by suction, especially to draw milk from a breast or teat; to nurse.

   The newborn sucked colostrum within minutes of birth.

   Through the narrow straw he could suck only a thin stream of the shake.

   UsageWith on, it names what the mouth works at: a baby sucks on a bottle, and the milk is understood.

   Similardraw, suckle

6. 6
   give oral sexverbslangvulgartransitive

   To perform fellatio on someone.

   In the book's most explicit scene, she sucks him in a hotel elevator.

   He begged her to suck him, but she just laughed.

   UsageAlso suck someone off. Put a pronoun before off: suck him off.

7. 7
   breathe inverbtransitive

   To draw air into the lungs; to take in a breath.

   By the top of the steep climb, the runners could barely suck air into their lungs.

   The swimmer surfaced and sucked in a huge gulp of air before diving again.

   UsageOften suck in a breath or suck in air; someone gasping after effort is sucking air.

   Note

   The sense is long established: Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great has "we all haue suckt one wholsome aire." Here, suckt means breathed in: the speaker describes people sharing the same air.

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