stuff

noun \ ˈstəf \

Updated on: 26 May 2018

1 : materials, supplies, or equipment used in various activities: such 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

See stuff defined for English-language learners

See stuff defined for kids

Examples of stuff in a Sentence

She got out the cooking stuff to bake some cookies.
computers, word processors, and stuff like that
I need a place to store my stuff.
Pick that stuff up off the floor.

Recent Examples of stuff from the Web

David Asman @LouDobbs @GreggJarrett Really bad stuff!

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s New Russia Scandal Theory: The FBI Set Him Up. There’s One Small Flaw.," 18 May 2018
Another reason to look at the stuff close up: Sand forensics experts can sometimes tell from the minerals present in a sample, as well as features like grain size, where the sand originated. 17.

— Discover Magazine, "20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Sand," 18 May 2018
But neither really account for the scale of the problem, so the researchers conclude that the only explanation that makes sense is that someone is making more of the stuff.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Is Someone Still Producing Ozone-Killing Chemicals In Secret?," 16 May 2018
Share Embed Link Westworld Season 2 got off to a slow and confusing start with a lot of timelines establishing a lot of..stuff.

— kayleigh roberts, Marie Claire, "'Westworld' Season 2 Episode 4 Revealed What Delos Is Really Doing in the Park," 14 May 2018
This is purely a list of useless but fulfilling stuff, like beading).

— lena dunham, Vogue, "Lena Dunham Explores Alone Time After a Break-Up," 11 May 2018
Both Google and Microsoft hosted their annual developer conferences and announced a whole bunch of stuff, so Nilay, Paul, Natt, and Dieter gather to break it down and give you the highlights.

— andrew marino, The Verge, "Vergecast: Google I/O and Microsoft Build," 11 May 2018
There's tons of stuff in there that struck me as being innovative and interesting.

— betsy mason, National Geographic, "Discover Fascinating Vintage Maps From National Geographic's Archives," 11 May 2018
It’s mundane bureaucratic stuff like flight schedules, invoices, emails.

— michael hardy, WIRED, "Haunting Photos of the Hidden War on Terror," 10 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stuff.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of stuff

Middle English, from Anglo-French estuffes goods, from estuffer to fill in (with rubble), furnish, equip, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German stopfōn to stop up, from Vulgar Latin *stuppare — more at stop

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

stuff Synonyms

Synonyms

capability, credentials, goods, qualification;

ability, capacity, competence, competency, facility, faculty;

aptitude, endowment, flair, genius, gift, knack, talent;

forte, long suit, métier (also metier), specialty, strong suit;

fitness, suitability, suitableness;

makings, potentiality;

stuff

verb

transitive verb

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 (something, such 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 (something, such as nasal passages)

4 a : to cause to enter or fill : thrust

stuffed a lot of clothing into a laundry bag

b : to put (a ball, a puck, etc.) 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

See stuff defined for English-language learners

Examples of stuff in a Sentence

The boy stuffed his pockets with candy.
She stuffed the laundry bag full.

Recent Examples of stuff from the Web

With prices mostly in the two or three figures, her studded leather jackets and slinky slip dresses look not unlike what stuffs the racks at H&M and Forever 21.

— sheila marikar, New York Times, "How to Make an American Fashion Brand (No Sewing Required!)," 26 Aug. 2017
Instead, the avocado was simply halved, then stuffed with a corn salad consisting of corn, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, and lime vinaigrette.

— birmingham magazine, AL.com, "Birmingham Restaurant Week Review: Lunch at Bottega Cafe," 15 Aug. 2017
Airport officials say the toilet had been stuffed with paper towels, and the airline affected, Southwest, offered replacement bags to some customers.

— miamiherald, "One overflowing toilet delayed thousands of people traveling to Florida," 9 Aug. 2017
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse and Smitten Ice Cream have teamed up to blow your mind this weekend, when the former’s signature croissant/muffin hybrids will be stuffed with Smitten flavors.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "The 5 Best Things to Do in L.A. This Weekend," 28 July 2017
One major favorite was The Fifth Element, Luc Besson’s 1997 masterpiece, a sci-fi/action wonderment stuffed full of oddball style and weirdo Euro humor.

— richard lawson, vanityfair.com, "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Is an Endearing, Eye-Popping Mess," 18 July 2017
One major favorite was The Fifth Element, Luc Besson’s 1997 masterpiece, a sci-fi/action wonderment stuffed full of oddball style and weirdo Euro humor.

— richard lawson, HWD, "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Is an Endearing, Eye-Popping Mess," 18 July 2017
THE factory of the future will be a building stuffed full of robots making robots.

— The Economist, "The Gemini makersMillions of things will soon have digital twins," 13 July 2017
Some products that could be coming soon to your favorite food retailer: Mini bagels shaped almost like tennis balls, cheesecake stuffed inside ice cream-style cones and a delicately flavored beverage derived from unroasted coffee beans.

— charles passy, WSJ, "Cricket Bars, Anyone? Quirky Foods Take Center Stage at Gourmet Trade Show," 26 June 2017

First Known Use of stuff

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

stuff Synonyms

STUFF Defined for English Language Learners

stuff

noun

: materials, supplies, or equipment
: a group or pile of things that are not specifically described
—used to speak in a general way about something that is talked about, written about, etc.

stuff

verb

: to fill (something) so that there is no room for anything else
: to push (something) quickly and carelessly into a small space
: to put a seasoned mixture of food into (something that is being cooked)

STUFF Defined for Kids

stuff

noun \ ˈstəf \

1 : materials, supplies, or equipment that people need or use

We helped move his stuff to the new apartment.

2 : writing, speech, sounds, actions, or ideas of little value

… some of the boys act so immature, making monkey sounds and stuff.
—Paula Danziger, Amber Brown

3 : something mentioned or understood but not named

Wipe that stuff off your face.

4 : basic part of something : substance

The floor is made of tough stuff.

She shows the stuff of greatness.

stuff

verb

stuffed; stuffing

1 : to force into something : thrust

She stuffed the clothes into a drawer.

2 : to fill by packing or crowding things in : cram

I stuffed the suitcases.

3 : overeat, gorge

4 : to fill with a stuffing

stuff a turkey

5 : to block up : congest

His nose is stuffed.

Medical Dictionary

stuff

transitive verb \ ˈstəf \

: to choke or block up (as nasal passages)

a stuffed up nose

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