sucker

sucker Definition

sucker (suk′ər)

noun

a person or thing that sucks
☆ any of a family (Catostomidae, order Cypriniformes) of bony fishes with a mouth adapted for sucking, found in freshwater of E Asia and North America
a part or device used for sucking; specif.,
1. a pipe or conduit through which something is sucked
2. the piston or piston valve of a suction pump
3. an organ used by the leech, fluke, remora, etc. for sucking or holding fast to a surface by suction
☆ lollipop
☆ Slang
1. a person easily cheated or taken in; dupe
2. a person highly susceptible to the attractions of something specified
3. any person or thing: often used humorously or affectionately, or to express mild annoyance
Bot. a subordinate shoot from a bud on the root or stem of a plant

transitive verb

intransitive verb

to bear suckers, or shoots

sucker Synonyms

A fish
Common suckers include: black horse, red horse, buffalo fish, lumpfish, sand sucker, remora, shark sucker, clingfish, chub sucker, hog sucker, hog molly, quillback, gourd-seed sucker, sweet sucker, jump rock, spotted sucker, brook sucker, lamprey;
*A victim
dupe, fool, cat's-paw, john*; see victim 2.
Candy
sweet, confectionary, lollipop; see candy.

sucker Usage Examples

Object

shrub: Division Teasing, pulling or cutting apart clumps of herbaceous perennials and suckering shrubs in order to produce more plants.

Converse of object

remove: Remember to remove any suckers; these are shoots growing from below the union on the root system.
bear: Famous for the line, " There's a sucker born every minute.
produce: Also watch out for suckers produced from below the union on grafted plants.

Adjective modifier

ventral: The suckers are approximately the same in size, the ventral sucker being slightly anterior to the midline of the parasite.
oral: Note the two suckers, the ventral sucker near the genital pore, and the oral sucker near the oesophageal gland.
poor: I laugh at any poor sucker who decides to waste their time on this map.
real: I'm a real sucker for anything from the 1920's or 1930's.
little: A concise, tasty little sucker of a show nonetheless.

Modifies a noun

punch: Instead we were waiting for the sucker punch, which duly arrived 60 seconds later.
cup: Each pair of sucker cups is attached to each side of window glass and held by looping cables over door frame and forming handle.
bet: Here is list of sucker bets found on a crap game along with their house edge.
growth: It most affects lush new growth and sucker growth and the young growth of pollarded planes is often affected.

Noun used with modifier

Possessives

payoff: This results in the two strategies alternating between receiving the maximum payoff and the sucker's payoff.

Preposition: for

punishment: Wilson's latest labor of love Sandy Wilson is evidently a sucker for punishment.
kind: I really am a sucker for this kind of sweet romantic comedy.

sucker Quotes

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.

—Fields,W C originally William Claude Dukenfield

There's a sucker born every minute.

—Barnum, P(hineas) T(aylor)

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