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PlainSpell

suck

/sʌk/noun, verb

suck is spelled S-U-C-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,479th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, suck means “An instance of drawing something into one's lungs by inhaling or into one's mouth by suction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of suck is sucks.

How many letters and syllables are in suck?

Letters4: S-U-C-K
Syllables1
In writing26 times per million words; the 3,479th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is suck?

Suck appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,479th 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 suck?

  • US /sʌk/
  • /sʊk/

Suck has one syllable.

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

Words people confuse with suck

Also written: sook, succ, uck.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with suck?

6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as suck from its last stressed vowel (/ʌk/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: cusk.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of suck

  • sucks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • sucking participle, present
  • sucked participle, past

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

What does suck mean?

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

noun

  1. 1

    An instance of drawing something into one's lungs by inhaling or into one's mouth by suction.

  2. 2

    Milk drawn from the breast.

  3. 3

    An indrawing of gas or liquid caused by suction.

  4. 4

    The ability to suck; suction.

  5. 5

    A part of a river towards which strong currents converge making navigation difficult.

  6. 6

    CanadaA weak, self-pitying person; a person who refuses to go along with others, especially out of spite; a crybaby or sore loser.

  7. 7

    A sycophant, especially a child.

  8. 8

    datedslangA short drink, especially a dram of spirits.

verb

  1. 1

    To use the mouth and lips to pull in (a liquid, especially milk from the breast).

    The baby sucked (milk) on her bottle.

  2. 2

    To perform such an action; to feed from a breast or teat.

  3. 3

    To put the mouth or lips to (a breast, a parent etc.) to draw in milk.

  4. 4

    To extract, draw in (a substance) from or out of something.

  5. 5

    archaicTo inhale (air), to draw (breath).

  6. 6

    To work the lips and tongue on (an object) to extract moisture or nourishment; to absorb (something) in the mouth.

  7. 7

    To pull (something) in a given direction, especially without direct contact.

  8. 8

    slangvulgarTo perform fellatio.

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

Suck in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanSaugen (instance of drawing something into one's mouth…), Schluck (Muttermilch) (milk drawn from the breast), Memme (weak, self-pitying person), kleiner Schluck (short drink), Blasen, Blowjob (vulgar: act of fellatio)
Portuguesechupar (instance of drawing something into one's mouth…), mame (vulgar: act of fellatio), sugar, chuchar ((transitive) to use the mouth to pull in…), ser péssimo (colloquial: term of general disparagement)
Spanishmamada (vulgar: act of fellatio), chupar, sorber, succionar, chupetear, chuperretear (chupetear a lot) ((transitive) to use the mouth to pull in…)
Frenchsucer ((transitive) to use the mouth to pull in…), être chiant, être nul (colloquial: term of general disparagement), téter ((transitive) to put the mouth or lips to (a…)

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 suck come from?

From Middle English souken, suken, from Old English sūcan (“to suck”), from Proto-West Germanic *sūkan, from Proto-Germanic *sūkaną (“to suck, suckle”), from Proto-Indo-European *sewg-, *sewk- (“to suck”). Cognate with Scots souke (“to suck”), obsolete Dutch zuiken (“to suck”), Limburgish zuken, zoeken (“to suck”).

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

What to look up after suck