stuff

plural stuffs

1. informaluncountableusuallyMiscellaneous items or objects; (with possessive) personal effects.

   What is all that stuff on your bedroom floor? He didn't want his pockets to bulge so he was walking around with all his stuff in his hands.

   1 more example

   The Bat—they called him the Bat.[…]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.

   1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01

   1. informalobsoleteuncountableusuallyFurniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils.

      He took away locks, and gave away the king's stuff.

      1630, John Hayward, The Life and Raigne of King Edward VI

      1 more example

      and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.

      1611, Bible, 1 Samuel 25:13, KJV

2. informaluncountableusuallyUnspecified things or matters.

   I had to do some stuff.

   1 more example

   Andy Jackson puts it more bluntly: "Just because we are off the naughty step doesn't mean we can stop doing stuff. It's far from 'no more action'.

   2026 July 8, Paul Clifton, “Brunel does the business”, in RAIL, number 1065, page 31

3. uncountableusuallyThe tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object.

   Near-synonyms: constituents, ingredients; see also Thesaurus:substance

   2 more examples

   The workman on his stuff his skill doth show, / And yet the stuff gives not the man his skill.

   1697, John Davies, A Poem on the Immortality of the Soul

   Pound an onion, warm a spoonful of ghee and throw in the onion, brown it slightly, add your curry stuff, brown this till it smells pleasantly, […]

   1887, Indian Cookery "Local" for Young Housekeepers: Second Edition, page 67

   Synonyms: matter, substance, constituents, ingredients, corporeity, body, mass, material

   1. archaicuncountableusuallyA material for making clothing; any woven textile, but especially a woollen fabric.

      She was going out to buy some lengths of good woollen stuff for Louise's winter dresses.

      1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, page 147

      2 more examples

      Without waiting for a reply, she unbound the veil from her head, and took off the loose black novice's robe, which she had put over a gray stuff dress similar to that worn by Lucy.

      1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 51

      "And you can buy a dress for your wife off this piece of stuff," said Lisetta, who had always an eye to business.

      1857, The National Magazine, volumes 10-11, page 350

      Synonyms: matter, substance, constituents, ingredients, corporeity, body, mass, material

   2. archaicuncountableusuallyBoards used for building.

      Synonyms: matter, substance, constituents, ingredients, corporeity, body, mass, material

   3. uncountableusuallyAbstract/figurative substance or character.

      We are such stuff / As dreams are made on

      c. 1610, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 4, scene 1, 156–157

      1 more example

      When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; / Ambition should be made of sterner stuff

      1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], lines 91–94

      Synonyms: matter, substance, constituents, ingredients, corporeity, body, mass, material

   4. dateduncountableusuallypaper-makingPulp; paper stock ground ready for use. When partly ground, it is called half stuff.

      Synonyms: matter, substance, constituents, ingredients, corporeity, body, mass, material

4. informaluncountableusuallyUsed as placeholder, usually for material of unknown type or name.

   Can I have some of that stuff on my ice-cream sundae?

   2 more examples

   It had been his intention to go to Wimbledon, but as he himself said: “Why be blooming well frizzled when you can hear all the results over the wireless.[…]You stand by, Janet, and wake me up if they do any of that running commentary stuff.”

   1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court

   The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today’s prices).

   2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847

   Synonyms: doodad, thingamabob, Sorted by number of Google hits, widget, hickey, gizmo, thingy, gimmick

5. slanguncountableusuallyNarcotic drugs, especially heroin.

   For some idiotic reason the bureaucrats are more opposed to tea than to stuff.

   1947, William Burroughs, letter, 11 March

   1 more example

   For example, one addict would crack shorts (break and enter cars) and usually obtain just enough stolen goods to buy stuff and get off just before getting sick.

   1975, Mary Sanches, Ben G. Blount, Sociocultural Dimensions of Language Use, page 47

   Synonyms: dope, gear, recreational drug, drug, dope, gear, horse, substance

6. obsoleteuncountableusuallyA medicine or mixture; a potion.

   I[…]did compound for her / A certaine ſtuffe, which being tane, would ceaſe / The preſent powre of life[…].

   1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v], page 397, column 1

7. euphemisticsometimesuncountableusuallyRefuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or irrational language.

   Don't give me any of that 'what-about' stuff!

   3 more examples

   Anger would indite / Such woeful stuff as I or Shadwell write.

   1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The First Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC

   But the Butcher turned nervous, and dressed himself fine, / With yellow kid gloves and a ruff— / Said he felt it exactly like going to dine, / Which the Bellman declared was all "stuff."

   1874–1876 (date written), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “Fit the Fit the Fourth.⁠ The Hunting.”, in The Hunting of the Snark […], London: Macmillan and Co., published March 1876, →OCLC

   Oh, stuff, Julia! I've given up chasing after will-o'-the-wisps like that.

   1912, Upton Sinclair, The Machine

   Synonyms: garbage, rubbish, nonsense, stuff and nonsense, cultch, crap, debris, dreck

8. uncountableusuallynauticalA melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication.

   While the ships were placed in ordinary “a thick coat of stuff” was applied to the hulls, and their awnings might be spread or sheds erected to provide some protection from sun and weather.

   2012, Thomas Williams, American Honor: The Story of Admiral Charles Stewart, page 561

   2 more examples

   The master, at my earnest solicitation, examined his vessel, and though he prefers the coal tar, yet he told me, there were shells sticking on, and that a very thin coat of stuff, if any, remained.

   1785, Pamphlets on British Shipping. 1785-1861, page 36

   On the last transverse planking, after: caulking and paying, he has laid on a coat of stuff, so hard when cold aš to resist a firm touch, and applied plain paper, then took heated band irons (such as women use) , and passed the iron from the centre of the sheet to the extremities, thus heating the stuff to make it adhere, pressing out the air, and laying it all flat and united with the course.

   1822, William Annesley, A New System of Naval Architecture, page 31

9. datedslanguncountableusuallycriminal argotMoney.

present singular third person stuffs · participle present stuffing · participle past stuffed · past stuffed

1. transitiveTo fill by packing or crowding something into; to cram with something; to load to excess.

   I'm going to stuff this pillow with feathers.

   1 more example

   Lest the gods, for sin, / Should with a swelling dropsy stuff thy skin.

   1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fifth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC

2. transitiveTo fill a space with (something) in a compressed manner.

   He stuffed his clothes into the closet and shut the door.

   5 more examples

   Put them [roses] into a[…] glass, with narrow mouths, stuffing them close together […] and [they] retain[…] smell […][and] colour.

   1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC

   The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn’t know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date and should never be mentioned in modern circles.

   1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New York, N.Y.: International Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

   It's our life you're taking, you're making us poor, you have no right, these slaves are ours, until Marie wanted to fill their mouths with cotton, all the cotton that had ever been picked by their slaves, just stuff it down their mouths until they were as fat and soft as the huge pillows they slept on while their slaves slept on hard boards and straw in filthy rat-infested cabins.

   2004, Orson Scott Card, The Crystal City: The Tales of Alvin Maker, Book Six, Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN, page 241

   You can't just stuff it in a vault somewhere and cross your fingers.

   2007, Iceland Review, H.J. Hamar, page 227

   “I will sort this stuff out and repack it.” “No time! Just stuff it inside baskets and shove them to the back. We can sort through it all later.”

   2011, Shirley G. East, The Dream Hunters Epoch: The Paleo Indians Series, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 528

3. transitivecookingTo fill with seasoning.

   She stuffed the turkey for Thanksgiving using her secret recipe.

4. transitiveTo load goods into (a container) for transport.
5. transitiveTo sate.

   I’m stuffed after having eaten all that turkey, mashed potatoes and delicious stuffing.

6. pronominalusuallyTo eat, especially in a hearty or greedy manner.

   She sits on the sofa all day, watching TV and stuffing herself with cream buns.

   1 more example

   Delaford is a nice place, I can tell you; exactly what I call a nice old-fashioned place, full of comforts and conveniences; quite shut in with great garden walls that are covered with the best fruit-trees in the country; and such a mulberry tree in one corner! Lord! how Charlotte and I did stuff the only time we were there!

   1811, Jane Austen, chapter 30, in Sense and Sensibility

   Synonyms: fill one's face, feed one's face, stuff one's face

7. AustraliaNew ZealandUKtransitiveTo break; to destroy.

   He skidded off the road and totally stuffed his brand new car.

8. AustraliaNew ZealandUKtransitivevulgarTo sexually penetrate.

   His wife came home early and found him on the couch stuffing the maid.

   Synonyms: fuck, root, screw

9. imperativemildlyoftentransitivevulgarUsed to contemptuously dismiss or reject something. See also stuff it.

   Stuff your stupid rules, I'll do what I like.

   3 more examples

   Jenny nodded in sympathy, spotting Ali's new iPod speakers sitting on top of the TV. Simone smiled and coughed. 'He forgot to take them with him. He can stuff it, it was my money.'

   2009, Matthew Hall, The Coroner, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN, page 218

   'Well,' she said, 'you can take your job and you can stuff it, because...' She stopped dead. 'My God,' she whispered, 'I've been wanting to say that to somebody all my life, and now I actually have. Whee!' She pulled herself together, straightened her back and picked up her handbag. 'Sorry,' she said, 'but I'm through.'

   2009, Tom Holt, Here Comes The Sun, Hachette UK, →ISBN, page 80

   And it rained everyday^([sic]) and the seas were rough everyday and I felt ill everyday and I thought, if this is sailing you can stuff it!

   2015, Chris Dunning, About a Village Boy: A memoir, Troubador Publishing, →ISBN, page 91

10. informalTo heavily defeat or get the better of.

    They totally stuffed us in that business deal.

    1 more example

    Mudchester Rovers were stuffed 7–0 in the semi-final.

11. transitiveTo cut off another competitor in a race by disturbing his projected and committed racing line (trajectory) by an abrupt manoeuvre.

    I got stuffed by that guy on the supermoto going into that turn, almost causing us to crash.

12. To preserve a dead bird or other animal by filling its skin.

    1 more example

    KANG: When I take this ship, I'll have Kirk's head stuffed and hung on his cabin wall. // MARA: They will kill us before we can act. // KANG: No, they wish to question us, learn our strength, our plans. They never will. // MARA: We are forty against four hundred. // KLINGON: Four thousand throats may be cut in one night by a running man. // KANG: Patience. Vigilance. They will make a mistake. Capture of the Enterprise will give us knowledge to end this war quickly.

    1969, Jerome Bixby, Star Trek episode “Day of the Dove”, Culver City, Calif.: Desilu Studios; distributed by Paramount Television, published 1969

13. transitiveTo obstruct, as any of the organs; to affect with some obstruction in the organs of sense or respiration.

    I'm stuffed, cousin; I cannot smell.

    1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]

14. transitiveTo form or fashion by packing with the necessary material.

    An Eastern king put a judge to death for an iniquitous sentence, and ordered his hide to be stuffed into a cushion, and placed upon the tribunal.

    1724, Jonathan Swift, “Drapier's Letters”, in 5

15. datedtransitiveTo crowd with facts; to cram the mind of; sometimes, to crowd or fill with false or idle tales or fancies.
16. transitivecomputingTo compress (a file or files) in the StuffIt format, to be unstuffed later.