tuck

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /tʌk/ (Northern England, Ireland) IPA(key): /tʊk/ Rhymes: -ʌk === Etymology 1 === From Middle English tuken, touken (“to torment, to stretch (cloth)”), from Old English tūcian (“to torment, vex”) and Middle Dutch tucken (“to tuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *teuh-, *teug- (“to draw, pull”) (compare also *tukkōną), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Akin to Old High German zucchen (“to snatch, tug”), zuchôn (“to jerk”), German Low German tuken (“to tug, pluck, grab and pull towards”), Old English tēon (“to draw, pull, train”). Doublet of touch. ==== Verb ==== tuck (third-person singular simple present tucks, present participle tucking, simple past and past participle tucked) (transitive) To pull or gather up (an item of fabric). [From 14thc.] (transitive) To push into a snug position; to place somewhere safe, or handy, or somewhat hidden. [From 1580s.] (intransitive, often with "in" or "into") To eat; to consume. [From 1780s.] (ergative) To fit neatly. To curl into a ball; to fold up and hold one's legs. To sew folds; to make a tuck or tucks in. To full, as cloth. (ambitransitive, LGBTQ) Of a drag queen, trans woman, etc., to conceal one's penis and testicles, as with a gaff or by fastening them down with adhesive tape. (music) To keep the thumb in position while moving the rest of the hand over it to continue playing piano keys that are outside the thumb (when playing scales). (aviation) Ellipsis of Mach tuck. ===== Antonyms ===== untuck ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Noun ==== tuck (countable and uncountable, plural tucks) An act of tucking; a pleat or fold. [From late 14thC.] (sewing) A fold in fabric that has been stitched in place from end to end, as to reduce the overall dimension of the fabric piece. A curled position. (medicine, surgery) A plastic surgery technique to remove excess skin. tummy tuck (music, piano, when playing scales on piano keys) The act of keeping the thumb in position while moving the rest of the hand over it to continue playing keys that are outside the thumb. (diving, gymnastics) A curled position, with the shins held towards the body. (nautical) The afterpart of a ship, immediately under the stern or counter, where the ends of the bottom planks are collected and terminate by the tuck-rail. (British and India, dated, school slang, uncountable) Food, especially snack food. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Related terms ==== tucker === Etymology 2 === From Old French estoc (“rapier”), from Italian stocco (“a truncheon, a short sword”). Doublet of estoc. ==== Noun ==== tuck (plural tucks) (archaic) A rapier, a sword. ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 3 === Compare tocsin. ==== Noun ==== tuck (plural tucks) The beat of a drum.