stuff
nounUS, UK /stʌf/ · AU, NZ /stɐf/
Etymology From Middle English stuf, stuffe, from Anglo-Latin stuffa and its etymon Old French estofe, estoffe, estuf, estuffe, stoffe, from estoffer, estofer (“to provide what is necessary, equip, stuff”), borrowed from Old High German stoffōn, from Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn (“to clog up, block, fill”). More at stop.
14 senses
- 1Miscellaneous items or objects; (with possessive)…
- 2Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils.
- 3Unspecified things or matters.
- 4The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a…
- 5A material for making clothing; any woven textile, but…
- 6Boards used for building.
- 7Abstract/figurative substance or character.
- 8Pulp; paper stock ground ready for use. When partly…
- 9Used as placeholder, usually for material of unknown…
- 10Narcotic drugs, especially heroin.
- 11A medicine or mixture; a potion.
- 12Refuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or…
- 13A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which…
- 14Money.
1
Informal, Usually Miscellaneous items or objects; (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.
- 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.1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01:
- and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.1611, Bible, 1 Samuel 25:13, KJV:
- He took away locks, and gave away the king's stuff.1630, John Hayward, The Life and Raigne of King Edward VI:
3
Informal, Usually Unspecified things or matters.
- I had to do some stuff.
4
Usually The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object.
- Near-synonyms: constituents, ingredients; see also Thesaurus:substance
- The workman on his stuff his skill doth show, / And yet the stuff gives not the man his skill.1697, John Davies, A Poem on the Immortality of the Soul:
1 more example
- Pound an onion, warm a spoonful of ghee and throw in the onion, brown it slightly, add your curry stuff, brown this till it smells pleasantly, […]1887, Indian Cookery "Local" for Young Housekeepers: Second Edition, page 67:
5
Archaic, Usually A material for making clothing; any woven textile, but especially a woollen fabric.
- Without waiting for a reply, she unbound the veil from her head, and took off the loose black novice's robe, which she had put over a gray stuff dress similar to that worn by Lucy.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 51:
- "And you can buy a dress for your wife off this piece of stuff," said Lisetta, who had always an eye to business.1857, The National Magazine, volumes 10-11, page 350:
1 more example
- She was going out to buy some lengths of good woollen stuff for Louise's winter dresses.1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, page 147:
6
Archaic, Usually Boards used for building.
7
Usually Abstract/figurative substance or character.
- When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; / Ambition should be made of sterner stuff1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], lines 91–94:
- We are such stuff / As dreams are made onc. 1610, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 4, scene 1, 156–157::
8
Dated, Usually Pulp; paper stock ground ready for use. When partly ground, it is called half stuff.
9
Informal, Usually Used as placeholder, usually for material of unknown type or name.
- Can I have some of that stuff on my ice-cream sundae?
- 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.”1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court:
1 more example
- 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).2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
10
Slang, Usually Narcotic drugs, especially heroin.
- For some idiotic reason the bureaucrats are more opposed to tea than to stuff.1947, William Burroughs, letter, 11 March:
- For example, one addict would crack shorts (break and enter cars) and usually obtain just enough stolen goods to buy stuff and get off just before getting sick.1975, Mary Sanches, Ben G. Blount, Sociocultural Dimensions of Language Use, page 47:
11
Obsolete, Usually A medicine or mixture; a potion.
- I[…]did compound for her / A certaine ſtuffe, which being tane, would ceaſe / The preſent powre of life[…].1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v], page 397, column 1:
12
Euphemistic, Sometimes, Usually Refuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or irrational language.
- Don't give me any of that 'what-about' stuff!
- Anger would indite / Such woeful stuff as I or Shadwell write.1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The First Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:
2 more examples
- But the Butcher turned nervous, and dressed himself fine, / With yellow kid gloves and a ruff— / Said he felt it exactly like going to dine, / Which the Bellman declared was all "stuff."1874–1876 (date written), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “Fit the Fit the Fourth. The Hunting.”, in The Hunting of the Snark […], London: Macmillan and Co., published March 1876, →OCLC:
- Oh, stuff, Julia! I've given up chasing after will-o'-the-wisps like that.1912, Upton Sinclair, The Machine:
13
Nautical, Transport Usually A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication.
- The master, at my earnest solicitation, examined his vessel, and though he prefers the coal tar, yet he told me, there were shells sticking on, and that a very thin coat of stuff, if any, remained.1785, Pamphlets on British Shipping. 1785-1861, page 36:
- On the last transverse planking, after: caulking and paying, he has laid on a coat of stuff, so hard when cold aš to resist a firm touch, and applied plain paper, then took heated band irons (such as women use) , and passed the iron from the centre of the sheet to the extremities, thus heating the stuff to make it adhere, pressing out the air, and laying it all flat and united with the course.1822, William Annesley, A New System of Naval Architecture, page 31:
1 more example
- While the ships were placed in ordinary “a thick coat of stuff” was applied to the hulls, and their awnings might be spread or sheds erected to provide some protection from sun and weather.2012, Thomas Williams, American Honor: The Story of Admiral Charles Stewart, page 561:
- Synonyms
- thingy
- Derived terms
39 terms
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