suck
- 01 B1 Intermediate
v.to pull liquid into your mouth using your lips and tongue.
v.to draw liquid into the mouth by creating a vacuum with the lips and tongue.
Simple“The child used a straw to suck the last bit of juice from the carton.”
In context“The infant began to suck instinctively as soon as it was placed near the breast, demonstrating a fundamental survival reflex.”
UsageOften used with 'up' when drawing liquid through a straw.
- 02 B1 Intermediate
v.to keep something in your mouth and move your tongue against it.
v.to hold something in the mouth and apply pressure or suction to extract flavour or moisture.
Simple“He liked to suck on a piece of hard candy while he was working.”
In context“The doctor advised the patient to suck on ice chips to stay hydrated without putting strain on the digestive system.”
UsageCommonly used with sweets or ice cubes.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to be very bad, annoying, or disappointing.
v.to be extremely inferior, objectionable, or unpleasant. Intransitive, though often followed by 'at' to specify a skill.
Simple“I really suck at tennis, but I enjoy playing with my friends anyway.”
In context“The fans started booing because the team's performance really sucked during the second half of the game.”
UsageWhen used to describe a lack of skill, it takes the preposition 'at'.
Teacher's tipWhile very common in casual speech, this can be considered mildly vulgar or rude in professional settings.
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to pull something in a certain direction using suction or air.
v.to draw something in a specific direction through the force of a vacuum or moving fluid.
Simple“The powerful vacuum cleaner can suck up all the dust from the carpet.”
In context“The small boat was nearly sucked into the whirlpool created by the opening of the dam's floodgates.”
UsageOften used with 'into' or 'down'.
- 05 C1 Advanced
n.the act of pulling air or liquid into the mouth.
n.the action or an instance of drawing something in by suction.
Simple“He took a long suck on his straw before answering the question.”
In context“The diver took one last deep suck of air from the tank before beginning the final ascent to the surface.”
UsageUsually used with 'take a'.
“The Serbian entrepreneur Ljubisa Karović, sitting by the window in seat 11F, had his head and right arm sucked out of the broken window in the incident.”
“Serbian national Ljubisa Karović's head and right shoulder were sucked out of the plane's window, leaving him "seriously injured and in shock".”
From Middle English souken, suken, from Old English sūcan (“to suck”), from Proto-West Germanic sūkan, from Proto-Germanic sūkaną (“to suck, suckle”), from Proto-Indo-European sewg-, sewk- (“to suck”). Cognate with Scots souke (“to suck”), obsolete Dutch zuiken (“to suck”), Limburgish zuken, zoeken (“to suck”). Akin also to Old English sūgan (“to suck”), West Frisian sûge, sûge (“to suck”), Dutch zuigen (“to suck”), German saugen (“to suck”), Swedish suga (“to suck”), Icelandic sjúga (“to suck”), Latin sūgō (“suck”), Welsh sugno (“suck”). Related to soak.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.