- stuff
- [[t]stʌ̱f[/t]]
♦♦stuffs, stuffing, stuffed1) N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp You can use stuff to refer to things such as a substance, a collection of things, events, or ideas, or the contents of something in a general way without mentioning the thing itself by name. [INFORMAL]
I'd like some coffee, and I don't object to the powdered stuff if it's all you've got...
I don't know anything about this antique stuff...
`What do you want to know?' - `About life and stuff.'...
Don't tell me you still believe in all that stuff?...
He pointed to a duffle bag.`That's my stuff.'
2) VERB If you stuff something somewhere, you push it there quickly and roughly.[V n prep/adv] I stuffed my hands in my pockets...
[V n prep/adv] He stuffed the newspapers into a litter bin and headed down the street...
[V-ed] His pants were stuffed inside the tops of his boots.
Syn:3) VERB If you stuff a container or space with something, you fill it with something or with a quantity of things until it is full.[V n adj] He grabbed my purse, opened it and stuffed it full, then gave it back to me...
[V n with n] He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.
[V-ed] ...wallets stuffed with dollars.
Syn:4) VERB If you stuff yourself, you eat a lot of food. [INFORMAL][V pron-refl prep] I could stuff myself with ten chocolate bars and half an hour later eat a big meal.
Derived words:stuffed ADJ-GRADED v-link ADJBut you're just so stuffed you won't be able to drink anything.
5) VERB If you stuff a bird such as a chicken or a vegetable such as a pepper, you put a mixture of food inside it before cooking it.[V n] Will you stuff the turkey and shove it in the oven for me?
[V-ed] ...stuffed tomatoes.
6) VERB: usu passive If a dead animal is stuffed, it is filled with a substance so that it can be preserved and displayed.[be V-ed] A pike weighing 29 lb 8 oz taken in 1878 was stuffed and is on display at the estate office...
[V-ed] He didn't much care for the stuffed animal heads that hung on the walls.
7) N-SING: the N of n If you say that one thing is the stuff of another, you mean that the first thing is a very important feature or characteristic of the second thing, or that the second thing can be based or built on the first thing. [FORMAL]The idea that we can be whatever we want has become the stuff of television commercials.
Syn:8) EXCLAM (feelings) If you are angry with someone for something that they have said or done, you might say `Get stuffed!' to them. [BRIT, INFORMAL, RUDE]9) VERB: only imper (emphasis) Stuff is used in front of nouns to emphasize that you do not care about something, or do not want it. [INFORMAL][V n] Ultimately my attitude was: stuff them...
[V n] Stuff your money. We don't want a handout.
10) PHRASE: V inflects If you do your stuff, you perform an activity in the way that people expect. [INFORMAL]Once I get on the pitch I know I can do my stuff...
All that was left was to plant the roses and wait for nature to do her stuff.
11) PHRASE: V inflects (approval) If you say that someone knows their stuff, you mean that they are good at doing something because they know a lot about it. [INFORMAL]These chaps know their stuff after seven years of war.
English dictionary. 2008.
