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Webster 1913 Edition

Stuff

Stuff

,
Noun.
[OF.
estoffe
, F.
étoffe
; of uncertain origin, perhaps of Teutonic origin and akin to E.
stop
, v.t. Cf.
Stuff
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
Material which is to be worked up in any process of manufacture.
For the
stuff
they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.
Ex. xxxvi. 7.
Ambitions should be made of sterner
stuff
.
Shakespeare
The workman on his
stuff
his skill doth show,
And yet the
stuff
gives not the man his skill.
Sir J. Davies.
2.
The fundamental material of which anything is made up; elemental part; essence.
Yet do I hold it very
stuff
o’ the conscience
To do no contrived murder.
Shakespeare
3.
Woven material not made into garments; fabric of any kind; specifically, any one of various fabrics of wool or worsted; sometimes, worsted fiber.
What
stuff
wilt have a kirtle of?
Shakespeare
It [the arras] was of
stuff
and silk mixed, though, superior kinds were of silk exclusively.
F. G. Lee.
4.
Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils.
He took away locks, and gave away the king's
stuff
.
Hayward.
5.
A medicine or mixture; a potion.
Shak.
6.
Refuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or irrational language; nonsense; trash.
Anger would indite
Such woeful
stuff
as I or Shadwell write.
Dryden.
7.
(Naut.)
A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication.
Ham. Nav. Encyc.
8.
Paper stock ground ready for use.
☞ When partly ground, called half stuff.
Knight.
Clear stuff
.
See under
Clear
.
–
Small stuff
(Naut.)
,
all kinds of small cordage.
Ham. Nav. Encyc.
–
Stuff gown
,
the distinctive garb of a junior barrister; hence, a junior barrister himself. See
Silk gown
, under
Silk
.

Stuff

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Stuffed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Stuffing
.]
[OE.
stoffen
; cf. OF.
estoffer
, F.
étoffer
, to put stuff in, to stuff, to line, also, OF.
estouffer
to stifle, F.
étouffer
; both perhaps of Teutonic origin, and akin to E.
stop
. Cf.
Stop
,
Verb.
T.
,
Stuff
,
Noun.
]
1.
To fill by crowding something into; to cram with something; to load to excess;
as, to
stuff
a bedtick
.
Sometimes this crook drew hazel bought adown,
And
stuffed
her apron wide with nuts so brown.
Gay.
Lest the gods, for sin,
Should with a swelling dropsy
stuff
thy skin.
Dryden.
2.
To thrust or crowd; to press; to pack.
Put roses into a glass with a narrow mouth,
stuffing
them close together . . . and they retain smell and color.
Bacon.
3.
To fill by being pressed or packed into.
With inward arms the dire machine they load,
And iron bowels
stuff
the dark abode.
Dryden.
4.
(Cookery)
To fill with a seasoning composition of bread, meat, condiments, etc.;
as, to
stuff
a turkey
.
5.
To obstruct, as any of the organs; to affect with some obstruction in the organs of sense or respiration.
I'm
stuffed
, cousin; I can not smell.
Shakespeare
6.
To fill the skin of, for the purpose of preserving as a specimen; – said of birds or other animals.
7.
To 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.
Swift.
8.
To crowd with facts; to cram the mind of; sometimes, to crowd or fill with false or idle tales or fancies.
9.
To put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
[U. S.]

Stuff

,
Verb.
I.
To feed gluttonously; to cram.
Taught harmless man to cram and
stuff
.
Swift.

Webster 1828 Edition

Stuff

STUFF

,
Noun.
[G., See Stove and Stew.]
1.
A mass of matter, indefinitely; or a collection of substances; as a heap of dust, of chips or of dross.
2.
The matter of which any thing is formed; materials. The carpenter and joiner speak of the stuff with which they build; mechanics pride themselves on having their wares made of good stuff.
Time is the stuff which life is made of.
Degrading prose explains his meaning ill, and shows the stuff, and not the workmans skill.
Cesar hath wept; ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
3.
Furniture; goods; domestic vessels in general.
He took away locks, and gave away the kings stuff. [Nearly obsolete.]
4.
That which fills any thing.
Cleanse the suffd bosom of that perilous stuff that weighs upon the heart.
5.
Essence; elemental part; as the stuff of the conscience.
6.
A medicine. [Vulgar.]
7.
Cloth; fabrics of the loom; as silk stuffs; woolen stuffs. In this sense the word has a plural. Stuff comprehends all cloths, but it signifies particularly woolen cloth of slight texture for linings.
8.
Matter or thing; particularly, that which is trifling or worthless; a very extensive use of the word. Flattery is fulsome stuff; poor poetry is miserable stuff.
Anger would indite such woful stuff as I or Shadwell write.
9.
Among seamen, a melted mass of turpentine, tallow, &c. With which the masts, sides and bottom of a ship are smeared.

STUFF

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To fill; as, to stuff a bedtick.
2.
To fill very full; to crowd.
This crook drew hazel boughs adown, and stuffd her apron wide with nuts so brown.
3.
To thrust in; to crowd; to press.
Put roses into a glass with a narrow mouth, stuffing them close together.
4.
To fill by being put into nay thing.
With inward arms the dire machine they load, and iron bowels stuff the dark abode.
5.
To swell or cause to bulge out by putting something in.
Stuff me out with straw.
6.
To fill with something improper.
For thee I dim these eyes, and stuff this head with all such reading as was never read.
7.
To obstruct, as any of the organs.
Im stuffd, cousin; I cannot smell.
8.
To fill meat with seasoning; as, to stuff a leg of veal.
9.
To fill the skin of a dead animal for presenting and preserving his form; as, to stuff a bird or a lions skin.
10.
To form by filling.
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.

STUFF

,
Verb.
I.
To feed gluttonously.
Taught harmless man to cram and stuff.

Definition 2024

Stuff

Stuff

See also: stuff

Luxembourgish

Noun

Stuff f ‎(plural Stuffen)

  1. living room

stuff

stuff

See also: Stuff

English

A bunch of stuff that was in some Japanese guy's bag

Noun

stuff ‎(usually uncountable, plural stuffs)

  1. Miscellaneous items; things; (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.‎
    • 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, The Bat, chapterI:
      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.
  2. The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object.
    • Sir John Davies (c.1569-1626)
      The workman on his stuff his skill doth show, / And yet the stuff gives not the man his skill.
  3. A material for making clothing; any woven textile, but especially a woollen fabric.
    • 1857, The National Magazine (volumes 10-11, page 350)
      "And you can buy a dress for your wife off this piece of stuff," said Lisetta, who had always an eye to business.
    • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, p.147:
      She was going out to buy some lengths of good woollen stuff for Louise's winter dresses.
  4. Abstract substance or character.
  5. (informal) Used as placeholder, usually for material of unknown type or name.
    Can I have some of that stuff on my ice-cream sundae?‎
    • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court:
      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.”
    • 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
      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).
  6. (slang, informal) Substitution for trivial details.
    I had to do some stuff.‎
  7. (slang) Narcotic drugs, especially heroin.
    • 1947, William Burroughs, letter, 11 March:
      For some idiotic reason the bureaucrats are more opposed to tea than to stuff.
  8. (obsolete, uncountable) Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils.
    • Sir John Hayward (c.1564-1627)
      He took away locks, and gave away the king's stuff.
  9. (obsolete) A medicine or mixture; a potion.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  10. (obsolete) Refuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or irrational language; nonsense; trash.
    • John Dryden (1631-1700)
      Anger would indite / Such woeful stuff as I or Shadwell write.
  11. (nautical) A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Ham. Nav. Encyc to this entry?)
  12. Paper stock ground ready for use. When partly ground, it is called half stuff.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

Usage notes

  • The textile sense is increasingly specialized and sounds dated in everyday contexts. In the UK & Commonwealth it designates the cloth from which legal and academic gowns are made, except for the gowns of Queen's/King's/State Counsel, which are (often in contradistinction) made of silk.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

stuff ‎(third-person singular simple present stuffs, present participle stuffing, simple past and past participle stuffed)

  1. (transitive) To fill by crowding something into; to cram with something; to load to excess.
    She stuffed the turkey for Thanksgiving using her secret stuffing recipe.
    • Dryden
      Lest the gods, for sin, / Should with a swelling dropsy stuff thy skin.
    • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
      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.
  2. (transitive) To fill a space with (something) in a compressed manner.
    He stuffed his clothes into the closet and shut the door.
    • Francis Bacon
      Put roses into a glass with a narrow mouth, stuffing them close together […] and they retain smell and colour.
  3. (transitive, used in the passive) To sate.
    I’m stuffed after having eaten all that turkey, mashed potatoes and delicious stuffing.
  4. (transitive, Britain, Australia, New Zealand) To break. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  5. (transitive, vulgar, Britain, Australia, New Zealand) To sexually penetrate. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  6. (transitive) To 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.
  7. To preserve a dead bird or other animal by filling its skin.
  8. (transitive) To obstruct, as any of the organs; to affect with some obstruction in the organs of sense or respiration.
    • Shakespeare
      I'm stuffed, cousin; I cannot smell.
  9. (transitive) To form or fashion by packing with the necessary material.
    • Jonathan Swift
      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.
  10. (transitive, dated) To crowd with facts; to cram the mind of; sometimes, to crowd or fill with false or idle tales or fancies.
  11. (transitive, computing) To compress (a file or files) in the StuffIt format, to be unstuffed later.
  12. (takes a reflexive pronoun, idiomatic) To eat, especially in a hearty or greedy manner.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Derived terms

Interjection

stuff

  1. (slang) A filler term used to dismiss explanation.
    "Why are you so sad, Joseph?" "Well...stuff."

Anagrams

Etymology

From Late Middle English stuffen ‎(“to equip, furnish”), from Old French estoffer ("to provide what is necessary, equip, stuff"; > French étoffer and étouffer), from Frankish *stopfōn, *stoppōn ‎(“to cram, plug, stuff”), from Proto-Germanic *stuppōną ‎(“to clog up, block, fill”). Cognate with Old High German stoffōn, stopfōn ‎(“to plug, stuff”), Old English stoppian ‎(“to stop up, close”) and Albanian shtyp ‎(“to press, squeeze, stuff”). Compare Dutch stof, and German Stoff. More at stop.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /stʌf/
  • Rhymes: -ʌf

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