n.
- The material out of which something is made or formed; substance.
- The essential substance or elements; essence: "We are such stuff/As dreams are made on" (Shakespeare).
- Informal.
- Unspecified material: Put that stuff over there.
- Household or personal articles considered as a group.
- Worthless objects.
- Slang. Specific talk or actions: Don't give me that stuff about being tired.
- Sports.
- The control a player has over a ball, especially to give it spin, english, curve, or speed.
- The spin, english, curve, or speed imparted to a ball: "where we could watch the stuff, mainly curves, that the pitchers were putting on the ball" (James Henry Gray).
- Basketball. A dunk shot.
- Special capability: The team really showed its stuff and won the championship.
- Chiefly British. Woven material, especially woolens.
- Slang. Money; cash.
- Slang. A drug, especially one that is illegal or habit-forming.
v., stuffed, stuff·ing, stuffs. v.tr.
- To pack (a container) tightly; cram: stuff a Christmas stocking.
- To block (a passage); plug: stuff a crack with caulking.
- Basketball. To block (a shot or an opponent who is shooting), especially before the ball leaves the shooter's hands.
- To place forcefully into a container or space; thrust: stuffed laundry into the bag.
- Sports. To shoot (a ball or puck) forcefully into the goal from close range.
- Basketball. To dunk (the ball).
- To fill with an appropriate stuffing: stuff a pillow.
- To fill (an animal skin) to restore its natural form for mounting or display.
- To cram with food.
- To fill (the mind): His head is stuffed with silly notions.
- To put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
- To apply a preservative and softening agent to (leather).
To overeat; gorge.
idioms:
stuff it Vulgar Slang.
- Used as an intensive to express extreme anger, frustration, or disgust.
- To eat greedily.
[Middle English, from Old French estoffe, from estoffer, to equip, of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
