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chuck

/t͡ʃʌk/noun, verb

chuck is spelled C-H-U-C-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, chuck means “Meat from the shoulder of a cow or other animal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of chuck is chucks.

How many letters and syllables are in chuck?

Letters5: C-H-U-C-K
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing15 times per million words; the 5,407th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is chuck?

Chuck appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce chuck?

  • /t͡ʃʌk/
  • /t͡ʃʊk/

Chuck has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-chuck.ogg, En-au-Chuck.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of chuck

  • chucks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • chucking participle, present
  • chucked participle, past
  • 'chuck
  • chack

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does chuck mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Meat from the shoulder of a cow or other animal.

  2. 2

    USdatedslangFood.

  3. 3

    A mechanical device that holds an object firmly in place, for example holding a drill bit in a high-speed rotating drill or grinder.

  4. 4

    obsoleteA chicken, a hen.

  5. 5

    A clucking sound.

  6. 6

    slangA friend or close acquaintance; term of endearment.

    Are you all right, chuck?

  7. 7

    A gentle touch or tap.

    She gave him an affectionate chuck under the chin.

  8. 8

    informalA casual throw.

  9. 9

    informalA throw, an incorrect bowling action.

  10. 10

    slangAn act or instance of vomiting.

  11. 11

    On rhythm guitar or mandolin etc., the muting of a chord by lifting the fretting fingers immediately after strumming, producing a percussive effect.

  12. 12

    ScotlandA small pebble.

  13. 13

    ScotlandobsoleteslangMoney.

  14. 14

    A pair of nunchaku, especially when using two.

  15. 15

    Abbreviation of woodchuck.

verb

  1. 1

    To place in a chuck, or hold by means of a chuck, as in turning.

  2. 2

    To bore or turn (a hole) in a revolving piece held in a chuck.

  3. 3

    To make a clucking sound.

  4. 4

    To call, as a hen her chickens.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo chuckle; to laugh.

  6. 6

    To playfully give a light touch, stroke, tap, etc., to someone, especially under the chin.

  7. 7

    informalTo throw, especially in a careless or inaccurate manner.

    Chuck that magazine to me, would you?

  8. 8

    To throw; to bowl with an incorrect action.

  9. 9

    informalTo discard, to throw away.

    This food's gone off - you'd better chuck it.

  10. 10

    informalTo jilt; to dump.

    She's chucked me for another man!

  11. 11

    datedinformalTo give up; to stop doing; to quit.

  12. 12

    slangTo vomit.

  13. 13

    slangTo leave; to depart; to bounce.

    Let's chuck.

noun

as Chuck
  1. 1

    informala Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoe.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Chuck in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanRinderkamm, Rinderhals, Rindernacken, Nackenstück (meat from the shoulder of a cow), Spannfutter, Spannzange (mechanical device)
Portuguesepá (meat from the shoulder of a cow), mandril (mechanical device)
Frenchmandrin (mechanical device), vomir (slang: to vomit)
Spanishmandril, portabrocas (mechanical device), mamola, manona, palmada (gentle touch), aventar (to throw carelessly)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does chuck come from?

Variant of chock.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after chuck