What does "suck" mean?
An instance of drawing something into one's mouth by inhaling.
Suck
/sʌk/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An instance of drawing something into one's mouth by inhaling.
- Grammar: suck is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: suction, absorb, apple polisher, apple-polisher.
- Useful contrasts: blow, blowing, excel.
- Usage evidence: You suck dude! I have to tell you everything!
How to use "suck"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "suck" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "suck" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "suck" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "suck" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "suck" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "suction" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "suck", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An instance of drawing something into one's mouth by inhaling. countable, uncountable
"Bammer agreed “Probably a good idea,” he agreed with a quick suck on his straw, “won't stop you from picking up any of these chicks, though.”"
- 2 the act of sucking wordnet
- 3 Milk drawn from the breast. uncountable
"The infant took suck in an instant, pulling strongly."
- 4 An indrawing of gas or liquid caused by suction. countable, uncountable
"On a proper workbench this can often be achieved between the end vice and a dog, though more sophisticated products use either the suck of a vacuum cleaner or just friction."
- 5 The ability to suck; suction. uncountable
"Vacuum for the park Mosuc is a street and park vacuum cleaner which its designers, Hollowell Engineering, Dearborn, Michigan, like to claim has more suck than most[.]"
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A part of a river towards which strong currents converge making navigation difficult. countable, uncountable
"Marvelous stories were told of "the suck" in early times. It was said that the water was so compressed that it would bear an ax."
- 7 A weak, self-pitying person; a person who refuses to go along with others, especially out of spite; a crybaby or sore loser. Canada, countable, uncountable
"“Why're you bothering to take her anywhere? I can't stand traveling with her. You're such a suck,” her sister said. Waved her smoke. “No fucking way I'm going.”"
- 8 A sycophant, especially a child. countable, uncountable
"You are McGlade's suck."
- 9 A short drink, especially a dram of spirits. countable, dated, slang, uncountable
- 10 An act of fellatio. countable, uncountable, vulgar
"Nate exhaled a long, slow breath. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn't cruise the steam room looking for married men looking for a quick suck. He needed to shoot his load, but was he really that desperate?"
- 11 Badness or mediocrity. slang, uncountable
"You don't have to call me on for everything, ok? I'm aware of my suck."
Verb
- 1 To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast). transitive
"The baby sucked (milk) on her bottle."
- 2 draw into the mouth by creating a practical vacuum in the mouth wordnet
- 3 To perform such an action; to feed from a breast or teat. intransitive
- 4 give suck to wordnet
- 5 To put the mouth or lips to (a breast, a mother etc.) to draw in milk. transitive
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 take in, also metaphorically wordnet
- 7 To extract, draw in (a substance) from or out of something. transitive
"That she may sucke their life, and drinke their blood, / With which she from her childhood had bene fed."
- 8 draw something in by or as if by a vacuum wordnet
- 9 To inhale (air), to draw (breath). archaic, transitive
"And ſince we all haue ſuckt on[e] wholſome aire, / And with the ſame proportion of Elements, / Reſolue, I hope we are reſembled, / Uowing our loues to equall death and life, […]"
- 10 provide sexual gratification through oral stimulation wordnet
- 11 To work the lips and tongue on (an object) to extract moisture or nourishment; to absorb (something) in the mouth. transitive
- 12 be inadequate or objectionable wordnet
- 13 To pull (something) in a given direction, especially without direct contact. transitive
"Cigarette smoke was sucked out through the cracks in the glass of the glazed panes overhead the side street and the parking lot."
- 14 attract by using an inexorable force, inducement, etc. wordnet
- 15 To perform fellatio. slang, transitive, vulgar
"1970-1975, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure the way he arched his back and spread his legs when he wanted me to suck him."
- 16 To be inferior or objectionable: a general term of disparagement, sometimes used with at to indicate a particular area of deficiency. Canada, US, colloquial, intransitive, sometimes, stative, vulgar
"Schumacher recalls Bucher had also written “Communism sucks” on the underside of his table"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"You suck dude! I have to tell you everything!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "suck"?
Common synonyms include: suction, absorb, apple polisher, apple-polisher, aspirate, aspirate.
How do you use "suck" in a sentence?
You suck dude! I have to tell you everything!
How do you pronounce "suck"?
Pronounced /sʌk/.
Etymology
From Middle English souken, suken, from Old English sūcan (“to suck”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūkan, from Proto-Germanic *sūkaną (“to suck, suckle”), from Proto-Indo-European *sewg-, *sewk- (“to suck”). Cognate with Scots souke (“to suck”), obsolete Dutch zuiken (“to suck”), Limburgish zuken, zoeken (“to suck”). Akin also to Old English sūgan (“to suck”), West Frisian sûge, sûge (“to suck”), Dutch zuigen (“to suck”), German saugen (“to suck”), Swedish suga (“to suck”), Icelandic sjúga (“to suck”), Latin sūgō (“suck”), Welsh sugno (“suck”). Related to soak.