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sucker

 [suhk-er]   Origin

suck·er

   [suhk-er]
noun
1.
a person or thing that sucks.
2.
Informal. a person easily cheated, deceived, or imposed upon.
3.
an infant or a young animal that is suckled, especially a suckling pig.
4.
a part or organ of an animal adapted for sucking nourishment, or for adhering to an object as by suction.
5.
any of several freshwater, mostly North American food fishes of the family Catostomidae, having thick lips: some are now rare.
EXPAND
6.
Informal. a lollipop.
7.
the piston of a pump that works by suction, or the valve of such a piston.
8.
a pipe or tube through which something is drawn or sucked.
9.
Botany. a shoot rising from a subterranean stem or root.
10.
Informal. a person attracted to something as indicated: He's a sucker for new clothes.
11.
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.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
12.
Slang. to make a sucker of; fool; hoodwink: another person suckered by a con artist.

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Sucker is one of our favorite verbs.
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to spend time idly; loaf.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
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verb (used without object)
13.
to send out suckers or shoots, as a plant.
Origin:
1350–1400; 1835–45 for def. 2; Middle English; see suck, -er1

Related forms
suck·er·like, adjective

Can be confused: succor, sucker.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
sucker (ˈsʌkə)
 
—n
1.  a person or thing that sucks
2.  slang a person who is easily deceived or swindled
3.  slang a person who cannot resist the attractions of a particular type of person or thing: he's a sucker for blondes
4.  a young animal that is not yet weaned, esp a suckling pig
5.  zoology an organ that is specialized for sucking or adhering
6.  a cup-shaped device, generally made of rubber, that may be attached to articles allowing them to adhere to a surface by suction
7.  botany
 a.  a strong shoot that arises in a mature plant from a root, rhizome, or the base of the main stem
 b.  a short branch of a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from the host
8.  a pipe or tube through which a fluid is drawn by suction
9.  any small mainly North American cyprinoid fish of the family Catostomidae, having toothless jaws and a large sucking mouth
10.  any of certain fishes that have sucking discs, esp the clingfish or sea snail
11.  a piston in a suction pump or the valve in such a piston
 
—vb
12.  (tr) to strip off the suckers from (a plant)
13.  (intr) (of a plant) to produce suckers

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sucker
"young mammal before it is weaned," 1382, from suck. Slang meaning "person who is easily deceived" is first attested 1836, Amer.Eng., on notion of naivete; the verb in this sense is from 1939. But another theory traces the slang meaning to the fish called a sucker (1753), on
EXPAND
the notion of being easy to catch in their annual migrations. Meaning "lollipop" is from 1823. Suckerpunch first recorded 1947.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
sucker   (sŭk'ər)  Pronunciation Key 

  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 © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary

sucker definition


  1. n.
    and sucka. a dupe; an easy mark. : See if you can sell that sucker the Brooklyn Bridge.
  2. tv.
    to trick or victimize someone. : That crook suckered me. I should have known better.
  3. n.
    an annoying person. (Also a rude term of address.) : I am really sick of that sucker hanging around here.
  4. n.
    a gadget; a thing. : Now, you put this little sucker right into this slot.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
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