the material of which anything is made:a hard, crystalline stuff.
material to be worked upon or to be used in making something:wood, steel, and other stuff for building.
material of some unspecified kind:a cushion filled with some soft stuff.
British Terms, Textiles[Chiefly Brit.]woven material or fabric, esp. wool.
property, as personal belongings or equipment; things.
something to be swallowed, as food, drink, or medicine.
inward character, qualities, or capabilities:to have good stuff in one.
Informal Termsaction or talk of a particular kind:kid stuff; Cut out the rough stuff.
worthless things or matter:to clean the stuff out of a closet.
worthless or foolish ideas, talk, or writing:a lot of stuff and nonsense.
Sport
[Baseball.]the assortment of pitches that a pitcher uses in a game together with the ability to deliver them in the proper manner at the right speed to the desired spot:He saved his best stuff for the tougher hitters in the lineup.
spin or speed imparted to a ball, as by a baseball pitcher, a bowler, or a tennis player:a pitch with plenty of stuff.
Informal Termsjournalistic, literary, artistic, dramatic, musical, or other compositions or performances:Bach composed some splendid stuff.
Informal Termsone's trade, skill, field, facts, etc.:She knows her stuff.
Slang Termsany kind of drug, esp. an illicit one.
PrintingAlso called stock.[Papermaking.]refined and beaten wet pulp ready for spreading on the wire.
v.t.
to fill (a receptacle), esp. by packing the contents closely together; cram full.
to fill (an aperture, cavity, etc.) by forcing something into it.
to fill or line with some kind of material as a padding or packing.
to fill or cram (oneself, one's stomach, etc.) with food.
Foodto fill (meat, vegetables, etc.) with seasoned bread crumbs or other savory matter.
to fill the preserved skin of (a dead animal) with material, retaining its natural form and appearance for display.
Governmentto put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
to thrust or cram (something) into a receptacle, cavity, or the like.
to pack tightly in a confined place; crowd together.
to crowd (a vehicle, room, etc.) with persons.
to clutter or fill (the mind) with facts, details, etc.
Clothing(in leather manufacturing) to treat (a skin, hide, etc.) with a composition of tallow and other ingredients.
to stop up or plug; block or choke (usually fol. by up).
v.i.
to cram oneself with food; eat gluttonously; gorge.
Old French estoffe, derivative of the verb, verbal
Frankish *stopfōn, *stoppōn (see stop); (noun, nominal) Middle English
Old French estoffer literally, to stuff
(verb, verbal) late Middle English stuffen to equip, furnish 1300–50
stuff′less, adj.
1, 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged
3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged See matter.
9.See corresponding entry in Unabridged waste, rubbish, trash.
10.See corresponding entry in Unabridged nonsense, twaddle, claptrap, balderdash.
23.See corresponding entry in Unabridged press, stow.
28.See corresponding entry in Unabridged obstruct.
a person, esp a woman, considered sexually (esp in the phrase bit of stuff)
do one's stuff ⇒ to do what is expected of one
that's the stuff ⇒ that is what is needed
Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French estoffe, from estoffer to furnish, provide, of Germanic origin; related to Middle High German stopfen to cram fullˈstuffer
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