Adjacent Words

Stuff definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

STUFF, n. [G., See Stove and Stew.]
1. A mass of matter, indefinitely; or a collection of substances; as a heap of dust, of chips or of dross.
2. The matter of which any thing is formed; materials. The carpenter and joiner speak of the stuff with which they build; mechanics pride themselves on having their wares made of good stuff.
Time is the stuff which life is made of.
Degrading prose explains his meaning ill, and shows the stuff, and not the workmans skill.
Cesar hath wept; ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
3. Furniture; goods; domestic vessels in general.
He took away locks, and gave away the kings stuff. [Nearly obsolete.]
4. That which fills any thing.
Cleanse the suffd bosom of that perilous stuff that weighs upon the heart.
5. Essence; elemental part; as the stuff of the conscience.
6. A medicine. [Vulgar.]
7. Cloth; fabrics of the loom; as silk stuffs; woolen stuffs. In this sense the word has a plural. Stuff comprehends all cloths, but it signifies particularly woolen cloth of slight texture for linings.
8. Matter or thing; particularly, that which is trifling or worthless; a very extensive use of the word. Flattery is fulsome stuff; poor poetry is miserable stuff.
Anger would indite such woful stuff as I or Shadwell write.
9. Among seamen, a melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc. With which the masts, sides and bottom of a ship are smeared.
STUFF, v.t.
1. To fill; as, to stuff a bedtick.
2. To fill very full; to crowd.
This crook drew hazel boughs adown, and stuffd her apron wide with nuts so brown.
3. To thrust in; to crowd; to press.
Put roses into a glass with a narrow mouth, stuffing them close together.
4. To fill by being put into nay thing.
With inward arms the dire machine they load, and iron bowels stuff the dark abode.
5. To swell or cause to bulge out by putting something in.
Stuff me out with straw.
6. To fill with something improper.
For thee I dim these eyes, and stuff this head with all such reading as was never read.
7. To obstruct, as any of the organs.
Im stuffd, cousin; I cannot smell.
8. To fill meat with seasoning; as, to stuff a leg of veal.
9. To fill the skin of a dead animal for presenting and preserving his form; as, to stuff a bird or a lions skin.
10. To form by filling.
An eastern king put a judge to death for an iniquitous sentence, and ordered his hide to be stuffed into a cushion, and placed upon the tribunal.
STUFF, v.i. To feed gluttonously.
Taught harmless man to cram and stuff.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object; "coal is a hard black material"; "wheat is the stuff they use to make bread" [syn: material, stuff]
2: miscellaneous unspecified objects; "the trunk was full of stuff"
3: informal terms for personal possessions; "did you take all your clobber?" [syn: stuff, clobber]
4: senseless talk; "don't give me that stuff" [syn: stuff, stuff and nonsense, hooey, poppycock]
5: unspecified qualities required to do or be something; "the stuff of heros"; "you don't have the stuff to be a United States Marine"
6: information in some unspecified form; "it was stuff I had heard before"; "there's good stuff in that book"
7: a critically important or characteristic component; "suspense is the very stuff of narrative" v
1: cram into a cavity; "The child stuffed candy into his pockets"
2: press or force; "Stuff money into an envelope"; "She thrust the letter into his hand" [syn: thrust, stuff, shove, squeeze]
3: obstruct; "My nose is all stuffed"; "Her arteries are blocked" [syn: stuff, lug, choke up, block] [ant: loosen up, unstuff]
4: overeat or eat immodestly; make a pig of oneself; "She stuffed herself at the dinner"; "The kids binged on ice cream" [syn: gorge, ingurgitate, overindulge, glut, englut, stuff, engorge, overgorge, overeat, gormandize, gormandise, gourmandize, binge, pig out, satiate, scarf out]
5: treat with grease, fill, and prepare for mounting; "stuff a bearskin"
6: fill tightly with a material; "stuff a pillow with feathers"
7: fill with a stuffing while cooking; "Have you stuffed the turkey yet?" [syn: farce, stuff]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French estuffes goods, from estuffer to fill in (with rubble), furnish, equip, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German stopf?n to stop up, from Vulgar Latin *stuppare — more at stop Date: 14th century 1. materials, supplies, or equipment used in various activities: as a. obsolete military baggage b. personal property 2. material to be manufactured, wrought, or used in construction <clear half-inch pine stuff — Emily Holt> 3. a finished textile suitable for clothing; especially wool or worsted material 4. a. literary or artistic production b. writing, discourse, talk, or ideas of little value ; trash 5. a. an unspecified material substance or aggregate of matter <volcanic rock is curious stuff> b. something (as a drug or food) consumed or introduced into the body by humans c. a matter to be considered <the truth was heady stuff> <long-term policy stuff> d. a group or scattering of miscellaneous objects or articles <pick that stuff up off the floor>; also nonphysical unspecified material <conservation and…all kinds of good stuff — Eric Korn> 6. a. fundamental material ; substance <the stuff of greatness> b. subject matter <a teacher who knows her stuff> 7. special knowledge or capability <showing their stuff> 8. a. spin imparted to a thrown or hit ball to make it curve or change course b. the movement of a baseball pitch out of its apparent line of flight ; the liveliness of a pitch <greatest pitcher of my time…had tremendous stuff — Ted Williams> 9. dunk shot • stuffless adjective II. transitive verb Date: 15th century 1. a. to fill by packing things in ; cram <the boy stuffed his pockets with candy> b. to fill to satiety ; surfeit <stuffed themselves with turkey> c. to prepare (meat or vegetables) by filling or lining with a stuffing d. to fill (as a cushion) with a soft material e. to fill out the skin of (an animal) for mounting 2. a. to fill by intellectual effort <stuffing their heads with facts> b. to pack full of something immaterial <a book stuffed with information> 3. to fill or block up (as nasal passages) 4. a. to cause to enter or fill ; thrust <stuffed a lot of clothing into a laundry bag> b. to put (as a ball or puck) into a goal forcefully from close range 5. — used in the imperative to express contempt <if they didn't like it, stuff 'em — Eric Clapton> — often used in the phrases stuff it and get stuffed 6. to stop (a ballcarrier) abruptly in a football game <stuffed the runner just short of a first down>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 the material that a thing is made of; material that may be used for some purpose. 2 a substance or things or belongings of an indeterminate kind or a quality not needing to be specified (there's a lot of stuff about it in the newspapers). 3 a particular knowledge or activity (know one's stuff). 4 woollen fabric (esp. as distinct from silk, cotton, and linen). 5 valueless matter, trash, refuse, nonsense (take that stuff away). 6 (prec. by the) a colloq. an available supply of something, esp. drink or drugs. b sl. money. --v. 1 tr. pack (a receptacle) tightly (stuff a cushion with feathers; a head stuffed with weird notions). 2 tr. (foll. by in, into) force or cram (a thing) (stuffed the socks in the drawer). 3 tr. fill out the skin of (an animal or bird etc.) with material to restore the original shape (a stuffed owl). 4 tr. fill (poultry etc.) with a savoury or sweet mixture, esp. before cooking. 5 a tr. & refl. fill (a person or oneself) with food. b tr. & intr. eat greedily. 6 tr. push, esp. hastily or clumsily (stuffed the note behind the cushion). 7 tr. (usu. in passive; foll. by up) block up (a person's nose etc.). 8 tr. sl. (esp. as an expression of contemptuous dismissal) dispose of as unwanted (you can stuff the job). 9 tr. US place bogus votes in (a ballot-box). 10 tr. coarse sl. offens. have sexual intercourse with (a woman). Phrases and idioms: bit of stuff sl. offens. a woman regarded as an object of sexual desire. do one's stuff colloq. do what one has to. get stuffed sl. an exclamation of dismissal, contempt, etc. stuff and nonsense an exclamation of incredulity or ridicule. stuffed shirt colloq. a pompous person. stuff gown Brit. a gown worn by a barrister who has not taken silk. stuff it sl. an expression of rejection or disdain. that's the stuff colloq. that is what is wanted. Derivatives: stuffer n. (also in comb.). Etymology: ME stoffe f. OF estoffe (n.), estoffer (v.) equip, furnish f. Gk stupho draw together

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Stuff Stuff, n. [OF. estoffe, F. ['e]toffe; of uncertain origin, perhaps of Teutonic origin and akin to E. stop, v.t. Cf. Stuff, v. t.] 1. Material which is to be worked up in any process of manufacture. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. --Ex. xxxvi. 7. Ambitions should be made of sterner stuff. --Shak. The workman on his stuff his skill doth show, And yet the stuff gives not the man his skill. --Sir J. Davies. 2. The fundamental material of which anything is made up; elemental part; essence. Yet do I hold it very stuff o' the conscience To do no contrived murder. --Shak. 3. Woven material not made into garments; fabric of any kind; specifically, any one of various fabrics of wool or worsted; sometimes, worsted fiber. What stuff wilt have a kirtle of? --Shak. It [the arras] was of stuff and silk mixed, though, superior kinds were of silk exclusively. --F. G. Lee. 4. Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils. He took away locks, and gave away the king's stuff. --Hayward. 5. A medicine or mixture; a potion. --Shak. 6. Refuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or irrational language; nonsense; trash. Anger would indite Such woeful stuff as I or Shadwell write. --Dryden. 7. (Naut.) A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication. --Ham. Nav. Encyc. 8. Paper stock ground ready for use. Note: When partly ground, called half stuff. --Knight. Clear stuff. See under Clear. Small stuff (Naut.), all kinds of small cordage. --Ham. Nav. Encyc. Stuff gown, the distinctive garb of a junior barrister; hence, a junior barrister himself. See Silk gown, under Silk.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Stuff Stuff, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stuffed; p. pr. & vb. n. Stuffing.] [OE. stoffen; cf. OF. estoffer, F. ['e]toffer, to put stuff in, to stuff, to line, also, OF. estouffer to stifle, F. ['e]touffer; both perhaps of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. stop. Cf. Stop, v. t., Stuff, n.] 1. To fill by crowding something into; to cram with something; to load to excess; as, to stuff a bedtick. Sometimes this crook drew hazel bought adown, And stuffed her apron wide with nuts so brown. --Gay. Lest the gods, for sin, Should with a swelling dropsy stuff thy skin. --Dryden. 2. To thrust or crowd; to press; to pack. Put roses into a glass with a narrow mouth, stuffing them close together . . . and they retain smell and color. --Bacon. 3. To fill by being pressed or packed into. With inward arms the dire machine they load, And iron bowels stuff the dark abode. --Dryden. 4. (Cookery) To fill with a seasoning composition of bread, meat, condiments, etc.; as, to stuff a turkey. 5. To obstruct, as any of the organs; to affect with some obstruction in the organs of sense or respiration. I'm stuffed, cousin; I can not smell. --Shak. 6. To fill the skin of, for the purpose of preserving as a specimen; -- said of birds or other animals. 7. To form or fashion by packing with the necessary material. An Eastern king put a judge to death for an iniquitous sentence, and ordered his hide to be stuffed into a cushion, and placed upon the tribunal. --Swift. 8. To crowd with facts; to cram the mind of; sometimes, to crowd or fill with false or idle tales or fancies. 9. To put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box). [U. S.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Stuff Stuff, v. i. To feed gluttonously; to cram. Taught harmless man to cram and stuff. --Swift.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(stuffs, stuffing, stuffed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. 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... 'What do you want to know?'—'About life and stuff.'... He pointed to a duffle bag.'That's my stuff.' N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp 2. If you stuff something somewhere, you push it there quickly and roughly. I stuffed my hands in my pockets... He stuffed the newspapers into a litter bin and headed down the street... = shove VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv 3. If you stuff a container or space with something, you fill it with something or with a quantity of things until it is full. He grabbed my purse, opened it and stuffed it full, then gave it back to me... He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn. = cram VERB: V n adj, V n with n 4. If you stuff yourself, you eat a lot of food. (INFORMAL) I could stuff myself with ten chocolate bars and half an hour later eat a big meal. VERB: V pron-refl prep • stuffed But you're just so stuffed you won't be able to drink anything. ADJ: v-link ADJ 5. 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. Will you stuff the turkey and shove it in the oven for me? ...stuffed tomatoes. VERB: V n, V-ed 6. If a dead animal is stuffed, it is filled with a substance so that it can be preserved and displayed. VERB: usu passive 7. Stuff is used in front of nouns to emphasize that you do not care about something, or do not want it. (INFORMAL) Ultimately my attitude was: stuff them... Stuff your money. We don't want a handout. VERB: only imper, V n, V n [emphasis] 8. 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. PHRASE: V inflects [approval]

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

stuf (keli; skeuos): "Material" for any purpose (Eze 12:3,4,7); or "supplies" in a more general sense (Ex 36:7, Hebrew mela'-khah; compare the King James Version, the English Revised Version 1Sa 10:22; 25:13; 30:24 (the American Standard Revised Version substitutes "baggage")); frequently, "household possessions" (Ge 31:37; 45:20; Ex 22:7; Jos 7:11; Ne 13:8; /RAPC Jdt 16:19; the King James Version Judith 15:11 (skeuasmata, the Revised Version (British and American) "furniture"); the King James Version Lu 17:31, where the Revised Version (British and American) reads "goods"). "Mingled stuff" is the translation of sha'aTnez in the Revised Version (British and American) instead of "garment of divers sorts" the King James Version (De 22:11).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Material, matter, substance, raw material. 2. Cloth, textile fabric. 3. Essence, elemental part. 4. Mixture, medicine, potion. 5. Refuse, rubbish, trash. 6. Trash, nonsense, absurdity, folly, moonshine, twaddle, balderdash, fudge, inanity, platitude, flummery. II. v. a. 1. Cram, stow, pack, fill full. 2. Press, crowd, squeeze. 3. Fill (by being put into). 4. Fill with dressing (as meat). 5. Obstruct (as any of the organs). III. v. n. Cram, eat greedily, feed.

Moby Thesaurus

abilities, accessories, accomplishments, addictive drug, air, aliment, allay, anhydrate, atom, atomic particles, atoms, attitude, attributes, axiom, baggage, balderdash, baloney, bar, batten, being, belongings, bind, blast-freeze, block, block up, blockade, bolt, bolt down, bosh, bottom, breast-feed, brim, brine, brute matter, building block, bull, bullshit, bung, bunk, bunkum, candy, capabilities, caulk, ceil, center, charge, chattels, chemical element, chink, chock, choke, choke off, choke up, claptrap, clobber, clog, clog up, cloth, cloy, component, compress, congest, constipate, constituent, core, cork, corn, cover, cram, cram in, crap, creations, crowd, crowd in, cure, dam, dam up, dangerous drug, dehydrate, desiccate, devour, distillate, distillation, dope, dough, drapery, drench, drive in, drug, dry, dry-cure, dry-nurse, dry-salt, earth, effects, element, elementary particle, elementary unit, elixir, embalm, engorge, entity, equipment, essence, essential, essentiality, essentials, etoffe, evaporate, fabric, face, fatten, fatten up, feather, felt, fiddle-faddle, fill, fill to overflowing, fill up, fire, flapdoodle, flower, focus, force, force in, force-feed, foster, foul, freeze, freeze-dry, freight, fume, fundamental, fundamental particle, fundamentals, fur, furniture, garbage, gear, gist, glut, gluttonize, gobble, goods, gorge, gormandize, gravamen, grit, gulp, gulp down, guttle, guzzle, hard drug, hard stuff, heart, hogwash, hot air, humbug, hyle, hypostasis, impact, impedimenta, individual, ingredients, inlay, inner essence, interline, irradiate, jade, jam, jam in, jam-pack, jerk, junk, kernel, kipper, kit, knock in, lace, lactate, lade, line, live to eat, load, lumber, makings, malarkey, marinade, marinate, marrow, material, material resources, material world, materiality, materials, materiel, matter, meat, medium, molecule, monad, mummify, napery, natural world, nature, nonsense, nourish, nub, nucleus, nurse, nurture, nutrify, nuts and bolts, object, obstipate, obstruct, overburden, overcharge, overdose, overeat, overfeed, overfill, overgorge, overindulge, overlade, overload, oversaturate, overstuff, overweight, pack, pack in, pad, pall, pang, paraphernalia, pelf, personal, physical world, pickle, piffle, pith, plenum, plug, plug up, plunder, plunge in, poke in, poppycock, possessions, postulate, pound in, preservatize, press, press in, principle, property, push in, quick-freeze, quid, quiddity, quintessence, quintessential, rag, ram, ram in, raven, raw material, refrigerate, rhino, rocks, rot, rubbish, run in, salt, sap, sate, satiate, satisfy, saturate, scratch, season, shekels, shit, shove, silk, slake, smash, smoke, smoke-cure, soak, soul, spile, spirit, squash, squeeze, squeeze in, stanch, staple, stay, stench, stock, stop, stop up, stopper, stopple, store, stuff and nonsense, stuff in, stuff up, stumpy, substance, substances, substratum, suckle, sugar, sum and substance, supercharge, supersaturate, supply, surcharge, surfeit, swill, tackle, talents, tamp, tamp in, tangible, textile, textile fabric, texture, the four elements, the nitty-gritty, things, thrust, thrust in, tissu, tissue, top off, trappings, traps, trash, tricks, tripe, twaddle, unit of being, virtuality, wad, wainscot, water, weave, web, wedge in, weft, weight, wet-nurse, wolf, wolf down, woof, wool, works