sucker

1 of 2

noun

suck·​er ˈsə-kər 

1

a

: one that sucks especially a breast or udder : suckling

b

: a device for creating or regulating suction (such as a piston or valve in a pump)

c

: a pipe or tube through which something is drawn by suction

d(1)

: an organ in various animals for adhering or holding

(2)

: a mouth (as of a leech) adapted for sucking or adhering

2

: a shoot from the roots or lower part of the stem of a plant

3

: any of numerous chiefly North American freshwater bony fishes (family Catostomidae) closely related to the carps but distinguished from them especially by the structure of the mouth which usually has thick soft lips compare hog sucker, white sucker

4

: lollipop sense 1

5

a

: a person easily cheated or deceived

b

: a person irresistibly attracted by something specified

a sucker for ghost stories

c

—used as a generalized term of reference

see if you can get that sucker working again

sucker

2 of 2

verb

suckered; suckering ˈsə-k(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to remove suckers from

sucker tobacco

2

: hoodwink sense 1

intransitive verb

: to send out suckers

corn suckers abundantly

Synonyms

Noun

• chump
• dupe
• gull
• mug [chiefly British]
• patsy
• pigeon
• pushover
• sap
• soft touch
• tool

Verb

• bamboozle
• beguile
• bluff
• buffalo
• burn
• catch
• con
• cozen
• deceive
• delude
• dupe
• fake out
• fool
• gaff
• gammon
• gull
• have
• have on [chiefly British]
• hoax
• hoodwink
• hornswoggle
• humbug
• juggle
• misguide
• misinform
• mislead
• snooker
• snow
• spoof
• string along
• suck in
• take in
• trick

Examples of sucker in a Sentence

Noun

He's just a con artist looking for another sucker.

That kid is a mean little sucker.

Verb

a notorious imposter who at one time suckered a lot of people into believing that she was the Grand Duchess Anastasia

suckered millions of desperate dieters with their grossly inflated claims of successful weight loss

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After the die-off, the city acknowledged significant populations of carp, crappie and Sacramento sucker fish also were found in the water — fish which were invasively and illegally introduced into the ecosystem. —Kyle Martin, The Mercury News, 15 July 2024

Back then, someone caught a 6.16-pound largescale sucker that was 23.1 inches long. —Helena Wegner, Idaho Statesman, 2 July 2024

Verb

The Celtics – losers of four of their last five games and 10 of 15 – have been playing an annoying brand of basketball lately, the kind that makes a fan want to sucker-punch the panic button and trade everyone whose first name doesn’t begin with J for Andre Drummond. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Feb. 2021

Despite the emails, despite Ivanka’s ludicrous public lies in order to sucker new buyers, then–District Attorney Cyrus Vance axed the investigation—a move that just happened to coincide with a substantial donation to his office from none other than Donald Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz. —Casey Michel, The New Republic, 30 Sep. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1607, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing sucker

• hog sucker
• shark sucker
• sucker for punishment
• sucker into
• sucker punch
• there's a sucker born every minute
• white sucker

Kids Definition

sucker

noun

suck·​er

ˈsək-ər

1

a

: one that sucks

b

: a part of an animal's body used for sucking or for clinging by suction

2

: a shoot from the roots or lower part of the stem of a plant

3

: any of numerous freshwater fishes related to the carps that usually have thick soft lips for sucking in food

4

: lollipop

5

: a person easily fooled or cheated

6

: a person irresistibly attracted to something

a sucker for historical novels

Medical Definition

sucker

noun

suck·​er ˈsək-ər 

1

: an organ in various animals (as a trematode or tapeworm) used for adhering or holding

2

: a mouth (as of a leech) adapted for sucking or adhering