to suck up
40
4.3
- phrasal verb
- /sʌk ʌp/
- Those pipes... suck up the chocolate and carry it away all over the factory.
- suck up water
- suck up liquids
- suck up dirt
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Watch on YouTubeI guess the the hose is a little nozzle that sucks up the water from a bucket.
- I guess the the hose is a little nozzle that sucks up the water from a bucket.
- If you dig down a little, you'd find heart roots reaching out to suck up water from the soil.
- These are probably the big three that suck up the most computer time.
- Well, that's also why there's an actual limit to how far you can suck up a straw.
- The bugs weren't bad because I had lizards hanging off the ceiling that would run over and suck up the the bugs flying in.
- The good news is that we're obviously heavily CPU bound, our GPU will be able to suck up any extra performance it can get.
Examples
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A good vacuum cleaner should be able to suck up dirt and dust from the floor.
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In a single feed, it sucks up an amount of blood equal to its own weight.
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So this is a little rope that sucks up the water that the plant needs.
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If you place your computer on the floor, it will suck up all of the dust that lies there.
Blog text (2) -
If you dig down a little, you'd find heart roots reaching out to suck up water from the soil.
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The sponge can suck up water quickly when you push it into the liquid.
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The plant's roots suck up nutrients from the soil to help it grow.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To put liquid into the mouth and swallow it
357
3.0
Get information or lessons from a source
346
1.0
To pull liquid into the mouth, for example with a straw
315
3.0
To take in things such as liquid, light, or information
93
4.8
To completely cover or hide something so it disappears
90
2.8
Completely swallow something like land or light
76
3.6
To eat or drink something so it goes into your body
49
1.4
To finish all the liquid in a cup or bottle so nothing is left
40
3.2
Understand new information or ideas
36
3.9
To take in and enjoy the atmosphere or information
36
4.6
Cover something completely so it cannot be seen
20
5.8
To drink a lot very quickly
13
5.1
To look at or listen to something with full attention and enjoy it
12
7.7
To drink or eat something very quickly, often without pausing
11
3.2
To empty a glass quickly in one long gulp
10
7.4
Drink alcohol or absorb ideas and knowledge
6
3.2
To soak up liquid or learn and keep new information
3
3.6
To take in and hold something, like a sponge taking water
3
3.8
To drink water or milk by licking it with the tongue again and again
1
5.7
To drink all of a glass or bottle quickly in one go
1
3.7
To take in liquid or things like information and feelings
1
3.7
To take liquid from a surface using something like a cloth
Antonyms
How Absorbent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to try to gain favor by flattering' cannot be directly derived from the literal senses of 'suck' (to pull) and 'up' (toward a reference point); the social action is idiomatic and metaphorical rather than a straightforward physical composition. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words but has not encountered the expression would unlikely predict the flattering/servile sense, so this is opaque.
Etymology
Suck up comes from the image of a straw or plant roots pulling liquid up by a suck action, as when roots draw water from soil. So it now means 'to take in' or 'absorb' things like liquid, nutrients, or information.