# fuck

/ˈfək/ (US) · /fˈʌk/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/fuck
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to have sex

verb · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Slang

to have sexual intercourse with someone.

For teachers: to engage in sexual intercourse. Transitive or intransitive; highly vulgar in all contexts.

- They were caught fucking in the back of the car.
- The film was censored in several countries because it depicted the protagonists fucking in a graphic and unsimulated manner.

### 2. to ruin or cheat

verb · CEFR B2 · Vulgar · Slang

to treat someone badly, cheat them, or break something completely.

For teachers: to exploit, defraud, or severely damage something or someone. Often used in the passive voice to describe a hopeless situation.

- The company really fucked its employees by cutting their pensions.
- If the engine fails while we are in the middle of the desert, we are completely fucked.

### 3. dismissal

verb · CEFR B2 · Vulgar · Slang

used to show you do not care about someone or that you are very angry with them.

For teachers: used as an imperative to express contemptuous dismissal or extreme hostility toward a person or entity.

- I'm tired of his excuses, so I told him to fuck off.
- He decided to just say fuck the consequences and quit his job without having another one lined up.

### 4. a person

noun · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Slang

an offensive word for a person you dislike or think is stupid.

For teachers: a term of contempt for a person, often modified by an adjective like 'dumb' or 'lazy'.

- Some stupid fuck nearly crashed into my car this morning.
- He was acting like a total fuck, so nobody wanted to invite him to the party.

### 5. care or concern

noun · CEFR B2 · Vulgar · Slang

the smallest amount of care or interest, usually used in negative sentences.

For teachers: the minimal unit of concern or consideration; almost exclusively used in negative constructions or to indicate apathy.

- I don't give a fuck what they think about my new haircut.
- She made it abundantly clear that she didn't give a flying fuck about the committee's recommendations.

### 7. emphasis

adverb · CEFR C1 · Vulgar · Slang

used to make an adjective or a statement much stronger.

For teachers: used as an intensifier to add emotional weight to an adjective, adverb, or a 'yes/no' response.

- That movie was fuckin' amazing.
- When asked if he wanted to go to the concert, he replied, 'Fuck yes.'

### 8. to mess with

verb · CEFR B2 · Vulgar · Slang

to interfere with something or try to change it in a bad way.

For teachers: to meddle, interfere, or tinker with something, often with negative results. Usually used with the preposition 'with'.

- Don't fuck with the settings on my computer.
- The hackers tried to fuck with the internal database, but the security protocols blocked them.

## Examples

- He shouted fuck when he saw the broken glass.
- The player kicked the ball and yelled fuck when he missed the goal.
- The character's outburst of fuck highlighted his desperation, though the author chose to omit it in the final edit for sensitivity.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.