stuff

stuff¹ W3S1 [stʌf] n [U]

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1¦(things)¦

2 somebody's stuff

3¦(activities/ideas)¦

4¦(work/art)¦

5 ... and stuff

6 the (very) stuff of dreams/life/politics

7¦(character)¦

8 do/show your stuff

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[Date: 1300-1400; : Old French; Origin: estoffe, from estoffer 'to provide with things needed']

1.) ¦(THINGS)¦ informal

used when you are talking about things such as substances, materials, or groups of objects when you do not know what they are called, or it is not important to say exactly what they are

▪ I've got some sticky stuff on my shoe.

▪ How do you think you're going to fit all that stuff into the car?

▪ I felt sorry for the ones who had to eat the awful stuff.

▪ Where's all the camping stuff?

2.) sb's stuff informal

the things that belong to someone

▪ Did you get the rest of your stuff?

3.) ¦(ACTIVITIES/IDEAS)¦ informal

used when talking about different activities, subjects, or ideas, when you do not say exactly what these are

▪ What kind of stuff do you like to read?

▪ I've got so much stuff to do this weekend.

▪ There's a lot of interesting stuff in this book.

▪ He's talked to me about all that stuff too.

▪ He does mountain biking and skiing and stuff like that .

4.) ¦(WORK/ART)¦ informal

used when you are talking about what someone has done or made, for example writing, music, or art

▪ I don't like his stuff.

▪ John Lee was getting ready to play his stuff.

▪ He did some great stuff in his early films.

good stuff

BrE (=used to tell someone that their work is good)

▪ This is good stuff.

5.) ... and stuff

spoken informal used to say that there are other things similar to what you have just mentioned, but you are not going to say what they are

▪ There's some very good music there, CD systems and stuff, and laser discs.

6.) the (very) stuff of dreams/life/politics

exactly the kind of thing that dreams etc consist of

▪ an enchanting place - the very stuff of dreams

7.) ¦(CHARACTER)¦

the qualities of someone's character

▪ Does he have the right stuff (=qualities that make you able to deal with difficulties) ?

▪ Surely you're not going to give up? I thought you were made of sterner stuff (=were more determined) .

8.) do/show your stuff informal

to do what you are good at when everyone wants you to do it

▪ Come on Gina, get on the dance floor and do your stuff!

→bit of stuff at ↑bit¹ (14)

→kid's stuff at ↑kid¹ (4)

→know your stuff at ↑know¹ (5)

→strut your stuff at ↑strut¹ (2)

stuff ²

stuff² v [T]

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1¦(push)¦

2¦(fill)¦

3¦(food)¦

4¦(dead animal)¦

5 stuff yourself

6 get stuffed

7 somebody can stuff something

8 stuff it

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1.) ¦(PUSH)¦ [always + adverb/preposition]

to push or put something into a small space, especially in a quick careless way

= ↑shove stuff sth into/in/up sth

▪ She stuffed two more sweaters into her bag.

2.) ¦(FILL)¦

to fill something until it is full

▪ Volunteers were busy stuffing envelopes.

be stuffed with sth

▪ a pillow stuffed with feathers

▪ boxes stuffed full of papers

3.) ¦(FOOD)¦

to fill a chicken, pepper etc with a mixture of bread or rice, onion etc before cooking it

4.) ¦(DEAD ANIMAL)¦

to fill the skin of a dead animal in order to make the animal look still alive

▪ a stuffed owl

5.) stuff yourself also stuff your face

informal to eat so much food that you cannot eat anything else

stuff yourself with

▪ The kids have been stuffing themselves with candy.

6.) get stuffed

BrE spoken used to tell someone very rudely and angrily that you do not want to talk to them or accept their offer

▪ He only offered me £10 for it, so I told him to get stuffed.

7.) sb can stuff sth

spoken used to say very angrily or rudely that you do not want what someone is offering

▪ 'All right. You can stuff your money!' Reynolds exploded.

8.) stuff it

spoken used to say angrily or rudely that you do not care about something or do not want something

▪ I thought, stuff it, I'll do what I want.