# suck

Pronunciation: say "SUK" /sʌk/

## Verb

1. To be inferior or objectionable; a general term of disparagement, often used with at to point to a particular area of weakness. *(colloquial, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: To be very bad or annoying. A rude, casual word.
   - _The hotel's Wi-Fi sucked, and the breakfast wasn't much better._
   - _Honestly, we suck at defense this season._
2. To draw a substance out of something, typically by suction, as a leech does blood.
   - Simple: To pull a liquid or other substance out of something.
   - _Leeches suck blood from the animals they attach to._
   - _The dehumidifier sucked moisture out of the damp basement air._
3. To pull something in a particular direction by force, especially without making direct contact with it.
   - Simple: To pull something toward or into a place with a strong force, often without touching it.
   - _The jet engine sucked a flock of gulls into its intake._
   - _Whirlpools suck floating debris toward their centers._
4. To work the lips and tongue on an object in the mouth to draw out its moisture or nourishment, or to dissolve it slowly.
   - Simple: To hold something in your mouth and move your tongue and lips on it.
   - _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._
5. To draw liquid into the mouth by suction, especially to draw milk from a breast or teat; to nurse.
   - Simple: To pull liquid into your mouth with your lips, especially when a baby or young animal drinks milk from its mother.
   - _The newborn sucked colostrum within minutes of birth._
   - _Through the narrow straw he could suck only a thin stream of the shake._
6. To perform fellatio on someone. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To use the mouth on a man's penis for sex. A very rude word.
   - _In the book's most explicit scene, she sucks him in a hotel elevator._
   - _He begged her to suck him, but she just laughed._
7. To draw air into the lungs; to take in a breath.
   - Simple: To breathe in air or take 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._

## Noun

8. An act of drawing liquid, smoke, or air into the mouth in a single inhaling pull.
   - Simple: One pull of liquid, air, or smoke into the mouth.
   - _He took a slow suck on his cigar and watched the rain._
   - _Each suck on the straw drained a little more of the float._
9. Badness or mediocrity; the overall quality of being unpleasant, inferior, or disappointing. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The bad or low quality of something. A casual, sometimes rude slang word.
   - _Veterans joke that boot camp exists to teach you to embrace the suck._
   - _Long runs in cold rain are miserable, so you just have to embrace the suck._
10. The inward pull of air, water, or another fluid produced by suction, or the strength of this pulling force.
   - Simple: The pulling force that draws air or water inward, or how strong that pull is.
   - _Swimmers stayed clear of the dam gates, where the suck of the outflow was dangerously strong._
   - _Each stroke of the pump produced a brief suck of air through the valve._
11. An act of fellatio, or oral sex performed on a man.
   - Simple: A very rude word for oral sex performed on a man.
   - _He bragged to his friends about getting a suck behind the bar._
   - _She told him fifty bucks bought a suck and nothing more._
12. A weak, self-pitying person; a crybaby or sore loser, or someone who refuses to go along with others out of spite. *(Canada)*
   - Simple: A person who complains a lot, feels sorry for themselves, or gives up like a sore loser.
   - _Quit being such a suck and come tobogganing with the rest of us._
   - _After the referee's call went against him, he sulked off the ice like a total suck._
13. A sycophant; a person, especially a child, who fawns on those in authority to win favor.
   - Simple: A person, often a child, who tries too hard to please people in charge to get special treatment.
   - _Nobody trusted the office suck who laughed at all the manager's jokes._
   - _He was a suck at school, forever volunteering to clean the blackboard._

## Noun

14. A quick drink of liquor, especially a dram of spirits. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A small drink of strong alcohol, like whiskey.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Milk drawn from the breast.
- (noun) A stretch of a river where strong currents converge, making navigation difficult.

## Origin

From Middle English souken, from Old English sūcan ("to suck"), going back through Proto-Germanic *sūkaną to the Proto-Indo-European root *sewg-, *sewk- ("to suck"). It is related to "soak" and has cognates such as Dutch zuigen, German saugen, and Latin sūgō.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/suck (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).