I. ˈstəf noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English stuff, stuffe, from Middle French estoffe stuff, material, from Old French, from estoffer to equip, stock — more at stuff II
1. : materials, supplies, or equipment used in various human activities: as
a. obsolete : military baggage : impedimenta
b. : bullets or shells fired from a gun : projectiles
were throwing broadsides at him … and stuff was going past him from both sides and killing — Ira Wolfert
our own stuff was pouring back on them, and the power of the weapons was impressive — Fred Majdalany
c. obsolete : the furnishings and chattels of a place or household
d. : personal property , clothing , possessions
my stuff is all unpacked — Joseph Dever
e. : money
he is out for the stuff , and when he gets it he salts it away — P.G.Wodehouse
is a moneyed writer burdened with even more of the stuff through inheritance — J.S.Sandoe
2. : material to be manufactured, wrought, or used in construction : raw or partially prepared material: as
a. : building materials
got all the stuff ready for building his house
b. : wood for use in carpentry
well furred inside with clear half-inch pine stuff — Emily Holt
c. : fibrous pulp fully beaten and ready for the paper machine — called also stock ; compare half stuff
d. : a finished textile suitable for clothing ; especially : wool or worsted material
e. : a composition of tallow, fats, and oil used to fill the pores of leather
f. : a mixture of tallow, tar, and turpentine used as a preservative on wooden ships
3. chiefly Scot & Irish : grain , pulse
4.
a. : literary or artistic matter, productions, or compositions
some contemporary … material, and some stuff on the early history of toleration — H.J.Laski
most writers can't cut their own stuff — Claire Callahan
— often used disparagingly
seems to be all the same — the old picaresque stuff — Arnold Bennett
b. : material written for a newspaper or periodical : copy
turns in good stuff from his beat
c. : writing, discourse, or ideas of little value : rubbish
novels are so full of nonsense and stuff — Jane Austen
there is so much vulgar, trivial stuff on the air — D.W.Brogan
mechanized organs of public opinion … are feeding us the same old stuff — Norman Woelfel
5.
a. : an unspecified material substance or aggregate of matter
investigating the age of the universe and the creation of the stuff of which it is made — George Gamow
decided that hydrogen was the primordial stuff of the universe — Waldemar Kaempffert
volcanic rock is curious stuff
b. : a solid, liquid, or gaseous matter processed or synthesized for various uses: as
(1) : a medical preparation : potion
(2) : an alcoholic beverage
that stuff 's too strong on an empty stomach — C.S.Barry
(3) : narcotics
mentioned to me that if I needed any weed or stuff to let her know — J.B.Martin
you've been pushing the stuff — Wenzell Brown
(4) : commodity , merchandise
brings the stuff in by freight car
when the stuff didn't move, advertised the lines widely — Susan Strom
(5) : fissionable material
plutonium … was the stuff of the early atom bombs — Bertram Mycock
6.
a. : the fundamental material of which something is made or consists : essence
tendencies that are part of the very stuff of warfare — Tom Wintringham
the stuff of greatness
the stuff of tradition
the stuff of life
b. : the basic qualities of a person or character : capacity for accomplishment in an activity or mode of existence
exhibits the stuff of manhood
was not the stuff of which the revolutionary is made — Liam O'Flaherty
must not expect to find in ordinary men the stuff of martyrs — Walter Lippmann
she was of sterner stuff now — C.S.Forester
proves that heroes are not made of pretty stuff — Frederic Morton
c. : the substance or material forming the basis of a literary work or artistic production
their adventures are real and make the stuff of a stirring novel — H.U.Ribalow
contained all the stuff of opera and was dramatically well-pointed — Norman Demuth
slick work, but … he doesn't get down to the real stuff — Arnold Bennett
d. : a body of knowledge or subject matter
philosophical physics … describes the stuff as a mathematical probability — W.L.Sullivan
the procession of presidents and wars in … history is dull stuff indeed if presented in a vacuum — W.R.Steckel
learning about the heavens from Ptolemy and his Arab commentators — real stuff at last — R.W.Southern
this is primer stuff today to … meteorologists — Carey Longmire
7.
a. : a mode or manner of acting or talking : the actions or talk of a person in specific circumstances
rough stuff isn't tolerated — Bill Wolf
no funny stuff now — Carl Jonas
disturbing the peace, stuff like that — R.O.Bowen
imagine a player getting away with that stuff today — Ted Williams
b. : an activity or branch of knowledge requiring specialized study, practice, or skill
struck us as a lad who knew his stuff — who could handle affairs of state or breeze through a … luncheon with equal aplomb — New Republic
with the plane's crew doing its stuff dodging the fireworks — T.B.Bruff
c. : an action, attitude, or development eliciting approval or commendation
that's the stuff , don't give up
8. : livestock
beds down … on the outside edge of the herd away from the horned stuff — R.F.Adams
box stalls are necessary for … young stuff — Producing Farm Livestock
9.
a. : the spin or rotation imparted to a thrown, rolled, or hit ball to make it curve or change course
no difference how hard you hit the ball or how much stuff you put on it in the way of spin … unless you have accuracy — J.D.Budge
b. : the speed or especially the variety of pitches or curves of a baseball pitcher
the greatest pitcher of my time … had tremendous stuff — Ted Williams
has a wide assortment of curves, sliders, and slow stuff — Lou Boudreau
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English stuffen, from Middle French estoffer to equip, stock, from Old French, probably from Middle High German stopfen to stop up, stuff, from Old High German stopfōn — more at stop
transitive verb
1. obsolete
a. : to supply (a fortification or commander) with stores, arms, or men : garrison
b. : to endow or equip (a person) with provisions, arms, or money
c. : to furnish (a house or place) with chattels, equipment, or accessories : stock
2.
a.
(1) : to fill (a receptacle) to fullness or distention by packing things in : cram
had to … stuff the jar — Ida Pruitt
— usually used with with
bags stuffed with papers — Van Wyck Brooks
things you have to stuff your pockets with — Richard Joseph
(2) : to insert a bill or communication in (an envelope) for mailing
their fingers stiff from stuffing and addressing envelopes — George Sklar
stuffed and addressed the invitations — Carl Jonas
b. : to fill (as one's stomach) to fullness : surfeit
got out the coffeepot … and before he could say a number she was stuffing him — Arthur Miller
stuffing ourselves with cake and sandwiches — Alice F. Webb
beef calves … which he stuffs for months with corn silage — John Bird
stuff a cold and starve a fever
c. : to prepare (meat or vegetables) for cooking or eating by filling or lining with a seasoned mixture
used to stuff veal with bread crumbs and butter and sage … and onion — Margaret A. Barnes
d. : to fill (as a cushion or ticking) with a soft material or padding
spent the morning stuffing the mattresses
made of leather and stuffed with shoddy and cotton waste — American Guide Series: Connecticut
e. : to fill out the skin of (an animal or bird) for mounting
f. : to crowd (an interior or place) with people
hopped aboard … the already stuffed rear of the bus — Eula Long
the church was stuffed full — R.C.Wood
g. : to fill (as a hole or opening) by packing in material : stop up : plug
stuffed the keyhole to shut out prying eyes — American Guide Series: Connecticut
stuffs woodchuck holes with rocks and dirt
stuffing the wound with cotton
h. : to furnish or fill (a house or room) to excess
lived in attic rooms stuffed with fantastic objects and furniture — Virginia D. Dawson & Betty D. Wilson
3.
a. : to clutter or fill (a person's mind) — usually used with with
those whose heads are stuffed with facts — A.J.P.Taylor
has a mind stuffed with ideas, hungry for argument — Virginia Woolf
— often used disparagingly
stuffs the people with lies that gag an honest man — Kenneth Roberts
stuffed right up to the ears with his own slogans — David Driscoll
b.
(1) : to crowd or fill (as a work, book, or discourse) — usually used with with
the book is … stuffed with delectable stories — Mark Van Doren
— often used disparagingly
tracts stuffed with a sodden morality — V.L.Parrington
the appearance of a travelogue stuffed with melodrama — Time
(2) : to expand or fill (a book or work) chiefly to enlarge the bulk or content : pad — usually used with out
scanty material, stuffed out with appreciation and conjecture — T.S.Eliot
stuffed out their pages with platitudes — Virginia Woolf
4. : to congest or block (as the nasal passages)
sounded stuffed up … had been crying again — J.H.Reese
his throat got stuffed — Liam O'Flaherty
5.
a. : to insert or fit snugly or tightly : tuck
secret documents stuffed under his shirt — Bernard Kalb
— usually used with into
got her stuffed into the closet — Robert Murphy
stuff the greenbacks into my wallet — H.A.Overstreet
b. : to cause to enter or fill : thrust , press — usually used with in or into
stuffed it deep down in his mind — Richard Llewellyn
knowledge … can never be knowledge that is stuffed in — H.A.Overstreet
have stuffed too many of the facts … into my intellectuals — L.P.Smith
any set mold into which the material has to be stuffed — Carlos Lynes
stuffing … any preoccupation with her concerns out of sight — Helen Howe
6. : to impregnate (leather) for softening and preserving — usually used with with
the leather goods are stuffed with a mixture of hot oil and tallow, or fat liquored — New Zealand Journal of Agric.
7. : to fill (a ballot box) with fraudulent votes
another type of corrupt practice is stuffing the ballot boxes — D.D.McKean
intransitive verb
: to eat gluttonously : gorge
had finished stuffing in the dining room — H.A.Chippendale
Synonyms: see pack
III. transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English stuffen, from Middle French estouffer
obsolete : stifle , suffocate
IV. noun
: dunk shot
V. transitive verb
1. : to throw or drive (a ball or puck) into a goal from very close range
2. — used in the imperative to express contempt
if they didn't like it, stuff 'em — Eric Clapton
— often used in the phrases stuff it and get stuffed
3. : to stop (a ballcarrier) abruptly in a football game