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to suck

to suck

85 2.5
To feed a baby or young animal with milk from its mother
  • verb
  • /sʌk/
translation icon : mamar
  • Greggie lolled on the stack of plume hooks, sucking his thumb and watching his mother with heavy-lidded eyes.
  • suck at the breast
  • the baby sucked

All I do is get my kids sucked at least twice a day.

Examples

  • "On the front page of the paper was an immense baby in diapers, sucking his thumb.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The infant was unable to suck and was, therefore, placed on orogastric tube feedings.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Let the child suck on a popsicle or something cold before you.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Just watch how babies try to suck their toes, wave their hands wildly as they giggle.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Abigail began to suck, and the breast tingled with the pull of the milk.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • A mother gently cradled her baby while he sucked from her breast.

  • The veterinarian watched as the puppy instinctively sucked on its mother's teat.

  • It is important for infants to suck on their mother's breast to receive essential nutrients.

Synonyms

to nurse
vsto suck
54 2.3

To feed a baby with your milk

refers specifically to the act of giving milk rather than caregiving
to breastfeed
vsto suck
23 2.6

Give a baby milk directly from the mother's breast

covers feeding from any breast or udder across species
to suckle
vsto suck
19 5.5

To drink milk from a mother's breast or an animal's udder

focuses on giving milk rather than being fed
to give suck
vsto suck
  • Archaic
1 9.8

To feed a baby or young animal from the breast

is gender neutral and applies to any feeder

Idioms

to suck cock
  • Offensive
6 9.9

To perform oral sex on a man or use as a rude insult

suck on that
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A rude shout that tells someone you beat or proved them wrong

suck my dick
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A very rude phrase that shows strong anger and tells someone to do a sexual act

to suck and blow
  • Informal
1 9.9

To try to do two opposite things at the same time

1 9.9

To be very bad or disappointing

An even chance for everyone to take part

9.9

An equal chance to take part or benefit

To ask for everyone to have an equal chance

An equal chance to be treated the same as others

suck a big one
  • Offensive
9.9

A rude, insulting phrase that tells someone to go away

9.9

To do something very badly and look foolish

to suck a lemon
  • Informal
9.9

To accept and deal with an unpleasant situation without complaining

To give sexual favors to a man to get a job promotion

9.9

Act too friendly and eager to please someone to get a favor

to suck the kumara
  • New Zealand
9.9

To accept and deal with something bad or disappointing

suck my balls
  • Offensive
9.9

A rude, insulting phrase that tells someone to do a sexual act

Give advice to someone who already knows more than you

Phrasal Verbs

to suck it up
  • Informal
81 8.8

Accept a difficult situation and continue without complaining

to suck it
  • Offensive
26 9.9

To tell someone to accept bad news or defeat without complaining

to suck up
  • Informal
26 8.0

To praise someone to get their approval

22 4.3

To take in liquid or information

16 4.5

Pull something out of a place by using air to draw it in

13 3.7

To pull air or liquid into something by making an empty space inside

13 5.1

To draw someone strongly into a situation, often against their wish

to suck down
  • Informal
9 7.7

To drink or eat something very quickly, often without pausing

7 3.6

To take in and hold something, like a sponge taking water

4 9.9

To kiss someone passionately for a long time

To take air into your lungs quickly when you feel surprised, afraid, or before hard work

Pull your belly in to make it look smaller

to give suck
  • Archaic
1 9.8

To feed a baby or young animal from the breast

to suck rocks
  • Informal
1 9.9

To be very bad or disappointing

Compounds

9.9

A rude phrase for something completely pointless and not worth your time

Surface Forms

suck infinitive
sucked past
sucked past participle
sucking present participle
sucks third person singular

Etymology

Suck is the same root as suckle, the common word for feeding a baby with milk, so the older sense of using the mouth to take milk explains why suck can mean to feed a baby.