chuck

1 of 2

verb (1)

ˈchək 

chucked; chucking; chucks

: cluck

chuck

2 of 2

verb (2)

chucked; chucking; chucks

transitive verb

1

: pat, tap

2

a

: toss, throw

b

: discard

chucked his old shirt

chuck it out with the trash

c

: dismiss, oust

—used especially with out

was chucked out of office

3

: give up

chucked his job

Synonyms of chuck

Verb (2)

• dump
• discard
• ditch
• unload
• lose

Examples of chuck in a Sentence

Verb (2)

after the power outage we reluctantly chucked everything that had been sitting in the fridge

I swear, I have half a mind to chuck this job and become a hermit!

chucked a wad of paper at his friend's back

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

As a result, the most important clay-court of all chucking players back into their old way of seeing and understanding the contours of a tennis match is hugely counterproductive. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 23 May 2026

Earlier this week, previous Late Show host David Letterman joined Colbert on the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York to chuck several pieces of furniture (and a cake) onto a bullseye at ground level painted with the CBS logo. —Spin Staff, SPIN, 15 May 2026

Pages chucked the ball back to shortstop Mookie Betts, and Betts casually flipped the ball to second baseman Miguel Rojas to complete the inning-ending double play. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 14 May 2026

While the bizarre urge to chuck things at rock stars performing music onstage has been around since the advent of, well, rock stars and stages, it’s increasingly frowned upon and widely considered the ultimate concert faux pas. —Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English chukken, of imitative origin

Verb (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing chuck

• chuck it (all) in
• chuck out
• chuck wagon
• chuck-will's-widow

Rhymes for chuck

• cluck
• duck
• huck
• luck
• muck
• pluck
• puck
• ruck
• schmuck
• shuck
• snuck
• struck

Kids Definition

chuck

1 of 3 verb

ˈchək 

1

: to give a pat or a tap to

chucked the child under the chin

2

: toss sense 2

let's chuck the ball around

chuck

2 of 3 noun

1

: a pat or nudge under the chin

2

: an easy throw : toss

chuck

3 of 3 noun

1

: a portion of a side of dressed beef including most of the neck and the parts around the shoulder blade and the first three ribs

2

: a device for holding work or a tool in a machine

Etymology

Verb

origin unknown

Noun

English dialect chuck "lump"