sucker

[ suhk-er ]
See synonyms for: suckersuckeredsuckering on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person or thing that sucks.

  2. Informal. a person easily cheated, deceived, or imposed upon.

  1. an infant or a young animal that is suckled, especially a suckling pig.

  2. a part or organ of an animal adapted for sucking nourishment, or for adhering to an object as by suction.

  3. any of several freshwater, mostly North American food fishes of the family Catostomidae, having thick lips: some are now rare.

  4. Informal. a lollipop.

  5. the piston of a pump that works by suction, or the valve of such a piston.

  6. a pipe or tube through which something is drawn or sucked.

  7. Botany. a shoot rising from a subterranean stem or root.

  8. Informal. a person attracted to something as indicated: He's a sucker for new clothes.

  9. Slang. any person or thing: He's one of those smart, handsome suckers everybody likes. They're good boots, but the suckers pinch my feet.

verb (used with object)
  1. Slang. to make a sucker of; fool; hoodwink: another person suckered by a con artist.

verb (used without object)
  1. to send out suckers or shoots, as a plant.

Origin of sucker

1
1350–1400; 1835–45 for def. 2; Middle English; see suck, -er1

Other words from sucker

  • suck·er·like, adjective

Words that may be confused with sucker

Words Nearby sucker

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sucker in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sucker

sucker

/ (ˈsʌkə) /


noun
  1. a person or thing that sucks

  2. slang a person who is easily deceived or swindled

  1. slang a person who cannot resist the attractions of a particular type of person or thing: he's a sucker for blondes

  2. a young animal that is not yet weaned, esp a suckling pig

  3. zoology an organ that is specialized for sucking or adhering

  4. a cup-shaped device, generally made of rubber, that may be attached to articles allowing them to adhere to a surface by suction

  5. botany

    • a strong shoot that arises in a mature plant from a root, rhizome, or the base of the main stem

    • a short branch of a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from the host

  6. a pipe or tube through which a fluid is drawn by suction

  7. any small mainly North American cyprinoid fish of the family Catostomidae, having toothless jaws and a large sucking mouth

  8. any of certain fishes that have sucking discs, esp the clingfish or sea snail

  9. a piston in a suction pump or the valve in such a piston

verb
  1. (tr) to strip off the suckers from (a plant)

  2. (intr) (of a plant) to produce suckers

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for sucker

sucker

[ sŭkər ]


  1. A part by which an animal sucks blood from or uses suction to cling to another animal. Leeches and remoras have suckers.

  2. A shoot growing from the base or root of a tree or shrub and giving rise to a new plant, a clone of the plant from which it comes. The growth of suckers is a form of asexual reproduction.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.