9 Grammatical Pitfalls


[stuhf] /stʌf/
the material of which anything is made:
a hard, crystalline stuff.
wood, steel, and other stuff for building.
material of some unspecified kind:
a cushion filled with some soft stuff.
Chiefly British. woven material or fabric, especially wool.
property, as personal belongings or equipment; things.
inward character, qualities, or capabilities:
to have good stuff in one.
Informal. action 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.
    a pitch with plenty of stuff.
Bach composed some splendid stuff.
Informal. one's trade, skill, field, facts, etc.:
She knows her stuff.
Slang. any kind of drug, especially an illicit one.
Also called stock. Papermaking. refined and beaten wet pulp ready for spreading on the wire.
verb (used with object)
to fill (a receptacle), especially by packing the contents closely together; cram full.
to put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
Synonyms: jam, compress, press, ram; stow.
to pack tightly in a confined place; crowd together.
to stop up or plug; block or choke (usually followed by up).
Synonyms: clog, obstruct.
verb (used without object)
to cram oneself with food; eat gluttonously; gorge.
Origin of stuff
late Middle English
1300-50; (v.) late Middle English stuffen to equip, furnish < Old French estoffer literally, to stuff < Frankish *stopfōn, *stoppōn (see stop); (noun) Middle English < Old French estoffe, derivative of the v.
Related forms
stuffless, adjective
restuff, verb (used with object)
understuff, verb (used with object)
unstuff, verb (used with object)
unstuffed, adjective
well-stuffed, adjective
Synonym Study
1, 2, 3. See matter. Unabridged
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Examples from the web for stuff
  • As the hardest substance known, diamond is ideal for cutting rock and other tough stuff.
  • IN almost every instance the sole reason to stuff one food with another is appearance.
  • One of his research fellows was producing exciting data, the kind of stuff that could shake up a field.
  • The best stuff is not always the latest stuff, after all.
  • One of the best ways to conserve water is to buy recycled goods, and to recycle your stuff when you're done with it.
  • Everybody trying to grow stuff has all the same challenges.
  • They are composed not of keratin, the stuff of fingernails, but of bone.
  • Gives you a mission, and they're small enough to stuff in a pocket.
  • stuff to be set in motion and stuff you could move yourself.
  • The move puts colleges at odds with major food corporations and with a public that buys the stuff in record amounts every year.
British Dictionary definitions for stuff


verb (mainly transitive)
to pack or fill completely; cram
(intransitive) to eat large quantities
to force, shove, or squeeze: to stuff money into a pocket
to fill (food such as poultry or tomatoes) with a stuffing
to fill (an animal's skin) with material so as to restore the shape of the live animal
(slang) to have sexual intercourse with (a woman)
(tanning) to treat (an animal skin or hide) with grease
(US & Canadian) to fill (a ballot box) with a large number of fraudulent votes
(in marine transport) to pack (a container) See also stuffing and stripping
(slang) to ruin, frustrate, or defeat
the raw material or fabric of something
woollen cloth or fabric
any general or unspecified substance or accumulation of objects
stupid or worthless actions, speech, ideas, etc
subject matter, skill, etc: he knows his stuff
a slang word for money
(slang) a drug, esp cannabis
(Brit, slang) a girl or woman considered sexually (esp in the phrase bit of stuff)
(informal) do one's stuff, to do what is expected of one
that's the stuff, that is what is needed
Derived Forms
stuffer, noun
Usage note
Word Origin
C14: from Old French estoffe, from estoffer to furnish, provide, of Germanic origin; related to Middle High German stopfen to cram full
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for stuff

early 14c., "quilted material worn under chain mail," from Old French estoffe "quilted material, furniture, provisions" (Modern French étoffe), from estoffer "to equip or stock," which according to French sources is from Old High German stopfon "to plug, stuff," or from a related Frankish word (see stop), but OED has "strong objections" to this. Sense extended to material for working with in various trades (c.1400), then (1570s) "matter of an unspecified kind." Meaning "narcotic, dope, drug" is attested from 1929. To know (one's) stuff "have a grasp on a subject" is recorded from 1927.


mid-15c., "to cram full," from stuff (n.); earlier "to furnish a fort or army with men and stores" (c.1300). The ballot-box sense is attested from 1854, American English; in expressions of contempt and suggestive of bodily orifices, it dates from 1952. Stuffing "seasoned mixture used to stuff fowls before cooking" is from 1530s. Stuffed in reference to garments, "padded with stuffing" is from mid-15c.; hence stuffed shirt "pompous, ineffectual person" (1913).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for stuff


  1. Masculine; sexually keen; macho: In one episode Ross is flustered when a new girlfriend wants him to talk dirty to her. For advice he goes to studly friend Joey/ Gay men at their pagan-studliest celebrate play, physicality, pretense, not to mention Greco-Roman grappling
  2. Excellent; good; cool: It seemed like a studly thing at the time. Microsoft got what it wanted, and I got what I wanted (1960s+)

Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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Idioms and Phrases with stuff
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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