tuck

1 of 5

verb

ˈtək 

tucked; tucking; tucks

transitive verb

1

a

: to push in the loose end of so as to hold tightly

tuck in your shirt

b

: to cover by tucking in bedclothes

—usually used with in

2

: to put into a snug often concealing or isolating place

a cottage tucked away in the hill

3

: eat

—usually used with away or in

tucked away a big lunch

4

a

: to pull up into a fold

b

: to make a tuck in

5

: to put into a tuck position

intransitive verb

1

: to draw together into tucks or folds

2

: to eat or drink heartily

—usually used with into

tucked into their beer and pretzels

3

: to fit snugly

tuck

2 of 5

noun (1)

1

: a fold stitched into cloth to shorten, decorate, or control fullness

2

: a cosmetic surgical operation for the removal of excess skin or fat from a body part

a tummy tuck

3

a

: a body position (as in diving) in which the knees are bent, the thighs drawn tightly to the chest, and the hands clasped around the shins

b

: a skiing position in which the skier squats forward and holds the ski poles under the arms and parallel to the ground

4

: the part of a vessel where the ends of the lower planks meet under the stern

5

a

: an act or instance of tucking

b

: something tucked or to be tucked in

tuck

3 of 5

noun (2)

: a sound of or as if of a drumbeat

tuck

4 of 5

noun (3)

: vigor, energy

seemed to kind of take the tuck all out of me

—Mark Twain

tuck

5 of 5

noun (4)

archaic

: rapier

Synonyms

Verb

• consume
• eat
• ingest
• partake (of)
• put away
• put down

Examples of tuck in a Sentence

Verb

She hadn't sealed the envelope, but had simply tucked in the flap.

Instead of tying his shoes, he just tucked the laces inside.

The sheets were tucked tightly under the mattress.

A bag was tucked under her arm.

She tucked her hair up under her hat.

The dog tucked its tail between its legs and slinked away.

The bird slept with its head tucked under its wing.

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Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Small styling tweaks, however, helped bring the minimalist ensembles to life: One point of a shirt’s collar peeked outside a blazer while the other stayed hidden; silver belt buckles shone; loosely, almost lazily, a sweater was tucked into flowy trousers. —Vincent Boucher, WSJ, 21 Sep. 2023

Kaia Gerber and Austin Butler Enjoy a Birthday Lunch Date in Los Angeles Gerber had a small black handbag tucked under her arm and also wore a pair of Adidas Samba sneakers. —Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2023

She was astonished to find sheet upon sheet of verse, some bound together with string, tucked away in a bureau. —Martha Ackmann, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2023

On Tuesday, to mark the final day of London Fashion Week, the cavernous show space of the Old Selfridges Hotel—tucked just around the back of the former department store—was transformed for the last time this season. —Liam Hess, Vogue, 20 Sep. 2023

After nearly 50 years in Quincy, the Zildjian company moved to its present location, tucked away on a back road behind a residential neighborhood here on the South Shore. —James Sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Sep. 2023

Her silky hair was parted deep to the left side, and her hair was tucked behind her ear on the right side, leaving the rest of her dark hair to fall over part of her face. —Gabi Thorne, Allure, 15 Sep. 2023

There were children in Barbie T-shirts, two anxious moms with toddlers on leashes, a man with a baby on his back and a doll tucked into his waistband, a woman with an American flag backpack. —Julie Turkewitz Federico Rios, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023

Well, tucked within the plant in the decorative plastic pot are Enviroscent non-toxic scent stix. —Megan Boettcher, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Sep. 2023

Noun

Patients with a significant amount of excess skin in addition to the diastasis may need a full tummy tuck, in which the muscle is tightened, extra skin is removed, and the belly button is relocated to a new position within the abdominal skin. —Alesandra Dubin, Parents, 6 Sep. 2023

She’s based in Northern Kentucky, and her work days are filled with the bread and butter procedures that typify aesthetic surgery: breast implants, tummy tucks, blepharoplasties, and liposuction. —Parizaad Khan Sethi, Allure, 24 Aug. 2023

And in a pair of randomized trials, patients given a high dose of the oral medication after bunion surgery or abdominoplasty (a tummy tuck) reported less pain than those given a placebo. —Jonathan Wosen, STAT, 2 Aug. 2023

In the image, Vonn is in a downhill tuck—which, for non-ski fans roughly translates to bent over with her butt in the air. —Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 19 July 2023

Wide gold ribbon tucks between branches to fill in spaces. —Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 Aug. 2023

With five layers of tights and an expert tuck, Coronel transforms himself from a shy call center agent into a stand-in for arguably the world’s biggest living pop icon. —Regine Cabato, Washington Post, 21 July 2023

Even so, women cross the border from Brownsville, Texas, every day to visit clinics in Matamoros offering liposuction and cosmetic procedures known as tummy tucks and Brazilian butt lifts. —Jacey Fortin, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2023

Retailing chain Target also has received blowback for selling tuck swimsuits as part of Pride Month, and is believed to be a factor in its stock price hitting multiyear lows. —Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 5 June 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English tuken to mistreat, finish (cloth) by stretching and beating, tuck, from Old English tūcian to mistreat; akin to Old High German zuhhen to jerk, Old English togian to pull — more at tow

Noun (2)

Middle English (Scots) tuicke beat, stroke

Noun (3)

probably from tuck entry 2

Noun (4)

Middle French estoc, from Old French, sword point, from estochier to strike with the sword tip, thrust, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch stoken to thrust, poke — more at stoke

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 4a

Noun (1)

1532, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1878, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

1508, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing tuck

• nip and tuck
• tuck-point
• tuck in
• tuck up

• nip and tuck
• tuck-point
• tuck in
• tuck up

Kids Definition

tuck

1 of 2 verb

ˈtək 

1

a

: to pull up into a fold

b

: to make a tuck in

2

: to put or fit into a snug or safe place

tucked their money away in the bank

our lunch tucked in a basket

3

a

: to push in the loose end of so as to hold tightly

tuck in your shirt

b

: to cover by tucking in bedclothes

a child tucked in for the night

tuck

2 of 2 noun

1

: a fold stitched into cloth (as in a garment)

2

: an act or instance of tucking

Medical Definition

tuck

noun

ˈtək 

: a cosmetic surgical operation for the removal of excess skin or fat from a body part see tummy tuck