I. ˈrək noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ruke, roke, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect rūka heap, Old Norse hraukr rick — more at rick
1. chiefly dialect : heap , stack , pile , rick
coral rucks sticking out of the water — Blackwood's
2.
a. : a large number or quantity taken especially as indistinguishable in the aggregate : assemblage
successes emerge from a ruck of smaller undertakings — Carl Van Doren
b. : the usual run of persons or things : generality , crowd , multitude
wrote the common ruck of the songs I was listening to — Max Beerbohm
qualities that are bound to raise a man out of the ruck — G.W.Johnson
from the ruck of routine, there arose a diversion — A.R.Griffin
c. : mass , jumble
what I feel about the ruck of recent verse — J.L.Lowes
a great ruck of textbooks — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
picked our way through the ruck , lighting matches … when we found ourselves trapped in blind alleys between bales — W.D.Steele
marked the land with the ruck of buffalo bones — Meridel Le Sueur
3.
a. : the racehorses running in a group behind those that set the pace
come up from the ruck
b. : any aggregation of persons or things following the winners or vanguard
finish a yacht race in the ruck
the ruck of wagons came after them — Irving Bacheller
war and chaos in its ruck — S.L.A.Marshall
4. : a group of players of each team in rugby that are close together but not in a set formation
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
chiefly dialect : to rake in a heap
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse hrukka wrinkle, akin to Middle High German runke wrinkle, Old English scrincan to shrink — more at shrink
: crease , pucker , wrinkle
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to draw or work into wrinkles or creases : pucker
more micaceous rocks may show a rucking or even small folds — Economic Geology
— often used with up
keeping the shirt from rucking up — advt
transitive verb
: crease , pucker , wrinkle
those whose natures have been rucked and wrinkled with suffering — R.S.Ellery
— often used with up
page was so wet, so rucked up — Elizabeth Taylor
top of the world, here rucked up into gleaming ridges — Phil Stong
V. ˈrək, ˈru̇k noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from ruck (III)
dialect Britain : rut , furrow