sucker

[ 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 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.
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.

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.

sucker

/ ˈsʌkə /

noun

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
   1. a strong shoot that arises in a mature plant from a root, rhizome, or the base of the main stem
   2. 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

verb

1. tr to strip off the suckers from (a plant)
2. intr (of a plant) to produce suckers

sucker

/ sŭk′ər /

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.

Other Words From

• sucker·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sucker¹

1350–1400; 1835–45 sucker fordef 2; Middle English; suck, -er ¹

Example Sentences

So Peter came over to my house in Toluca Lake and we banged that sucker out in about an hour.

From Los Angeles Times

Now I’m a sucker for a fabulous fish dish, especially if the fish is raw.

From Salon

The company makes so much candy, between all of its brands, that it supports an army of smaller manufacturers around the United States: the companies that make the sucker sticks in North Carolina and New York, the Wisconsin company that makes Dum Dum wrappers, the midwestern companies that make the cardboard for the company’s boxes, the sugar beet growers up in Michigan.

From Salon

“I’m a sucker for uptempo. With the transitions of R&B to club music, my shows have become a beautiful blender. Everything always ends up coming together well in the end,” De Miguel said.

From Los Angeles Times

It wasn’t a baseball game, it was a sucker punch.

From Los Angeles Times