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.
Chiefly British. woven material or fabric, especially 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. 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.
Sports.
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. journalistic, literary, artistic, dramatic, musical, or other compositions or performances: 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 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.
Cooking. to fill (meat, vegetables, etc.) with seasoned breadcrumbs or other savory matter.
to fill the preserved skin of (a dead animal) with material, retaining its natural form and appearance for display.
to 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.
(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 followed by up).
verb (used without object)
to cram oneself with food; eat gluttonously; gorge.
Origin of stuff
First recorded in 1300–50; (verb) late Middle English stuffen “to equip, furnish,” from Old French estoffer literally, “to stuff,” from unattested Frankish stopfōn, stoppōn; (noun) Middle English, from Old French estoffe, derivative of the verb; see stop
As we hired new employees, a few did stupid stuff, leading to errors that cost the company money.
What if Your Company Had No Rules? (Bonus Episode)|Maria Konnikova|September 12, 2020|Freakonomics
There’s a societal position that these cases are between these two people, and if it’s between a man and a woman, that’s personal stuff that we can’t get involved in.
“People want to believe”: How Love Fraud builds an absorbing docuseries around a romantic con man|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
So now we get to the cool stuff – reverse-engineering the SERPs to snag those premium organic placements.
How to become a master of featured snippets|Mark Webster|September 3, 2020|Search Engine Watch
That’s going to create more pressure for the stuff that isn’t political.
‘A healthy rebound’: Programmatic rally continues for publishers|Max Willens|September 3, 2020|Digiday
It tracks the typical fitness stuff you’d expect like steps and pulse trends.
Amazon’s new fitness tracker listens to your voice to figure out your mood|Stan Horaczek|September 2, 2020|Popular Science
The best comparison here for an American audience is, well, Internet stuff.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I think all the traveling and all the nationalities put that stuff in my head.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There were a lot of little pieces, pieces of lead and stuff.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Sometimes the Christians are saying, ‘We need to hear explicitly Christian stuff,’” says Mineo.
Down With the King: Christianity Isn’t Hiding in Rap’s Closet|Stereo Williams|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And his worst work is better than the stuff everyone else is doing.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Yes, good crop that—'nough to stuff a mattress with; looks better to-day than when it's full of alkali dust," replied the Major.
John Ermine of the Yellowstone|Frederic Remington
There was really a touching truth in it, the stuff of—what did people call such things?
The Sacred Fount|Henry James
I've been in it before—and when you see a man get a jolt of that stuff just once, you never forget it.
Triplanetary|Edward Elmer Smith
There is less danger of puckering the stuff if you hold it over two fingers (at least), keeping it taut and the thread loose.
Art in Needlework|Lewis F. Day
And, by the way, it is troublesome carrying so much of the stuff back again.
Pearl-Maiden|H. Rider Haggard
British Dictionary definitions for stuff
stuff
/ (stʌf) /
verb(mainly tr)
to pack or fill completely; cram
(intr)to eat large quantities
to force, shove, or squeezeto 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
slangto have sexual intercourse with (a woman)
tanningto treat (an animal skin or hide) with grease
US and Canadianto fill (a ballot box) with a large number of fraudulent votes
(in marine transport) to pack (a container)See also stuffing and stripping
slangto ruin, frustrate, or defeat
noun
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, etche knows his stuff
a slang word for money
slanga drug, esp cannabis
Britishslanga girl or woman considered sexually (esp in the phrase bit of stuff)
do one's stuffinformalto do what is expected of one
that's the stuffthat is what is needed
Derived forms of stuff
stuffer, noun
Word Origin for stuff
C14: from Old French estoffe, from estoffer to furnish, provide, of Germanic origin; related to Middle High German stopfen to cram full
usage for stuff
Sense 6 of this word was formerly considered to be taboo, and it was labelled as such in previous editions of Collins English Dictionary . However, it has now become acceptable in speech, although some older or more conservative people may object to its use