suck (up) 1 of 2

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as in to soak (up)
to take in (something liquid) through small openings these lilacs sucked up all the water I added to the vase yesterday

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of suck (up)
Noun
To be sure, plenty of companies are still committed to DEI programs, and not all executives are morphing into insufferable suck-ups. Allison Morrow, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024 Back in the dawn of the Trump era — just prior to his 2017 inauguration — the line of would-be suck-ups queuing up for face time with the president-elect included a man with a distinguished name. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2023 Office suck-ups, popularized by television characters like Dwight Schrute in The Office and Tom Wambsgans in Succession, typically take their cues from those in charge. Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023 Still, gossip mongers and suck-ups won’t go away unless managers remove the incentives to such behavior, while rewarding positive actions like collaboration. Matthew Boyle, Fortune, 26 Apr. 2023 As a shameless suck-up with a remarkable ability to fail upward, Tom is on track to conquer the world. Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suck (up)
Verb
  • Not all Cybertruck owners will be too fussed about that, though.
    Carlton Reid, WIRED, 25 Nov. 2024
  • The gizmo also includes haptic alerts that can wake you—but not your partner—if your child is fussing.
    Chris Stokel-Walker, TIME, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Beyond just my daughter, me, and the occasional friend she’s seen drinking from an Owala, Amazon shoppers love the brand, too.
    Terri Peters, Parents, 16 Dec. 2024
  • The American Heart Association (AHA) advises against the idea of starting to drink alcohol just to try to prevent heart disease.
    Peter Burke, Fox News, 16 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • There are a few reasons why timing matters when salting mashed potatoes: Salt absorption: Potatoes absorb salt at different stages of the cooking process in different ways.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 24 Dec. 2024
  • This gel works fast by utilizing its key blemish-reducing ingredient, which penetrates deep into your pores to clear them out and absorb excess oil—your breakouts won't even know what hit them.
    Deanna Pai, Allure, 23 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, under white powder and red eye shadow like Joker sycophants.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
  • But that progress will be harder to forge if Trump follows through on his vow to mass fire civil servants and replace them with sycophants.
    Kenny Torrella, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
Verb
  • White had Raiders fans drooling with his Instagram posts, showing off his new body after an offseason spent in the gym.
    Tashan Reed, The Athletic, 23 July 2024
  • But the saucier iterations are what viewers are drooling over on TikTok.
    Sabrina Weiss, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Of course, being a junior senator and attaching your name to legislation that has little chance of being enacted—none of those have bills passed—is very different from being Vice-President and chief lickspittle to Trump.
    John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
  • Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.
    Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 7 July 2024
Verb
  • The settlement sparked a backlash from both sides of the political aisle, with one half framing it as a dishonest entity being justly punished and the other accusing the news outlet of kowtowing to Trump.
    Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
  • SoftBank’s commitment comes on the heels of many Big Tech executives kowtowing to the president-elect—and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman all announcing $1 million donations to Trump’s inaugural fund.
    Megan Poinski, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones, and Paul Walter Hauser all drop by to add their touches to an underworld majordomo, a dogged BPD Special Ops officer, a political toady and Boston’s single dumbest thug, respectively.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Aug. 2024
  • Even meteorologists would face an uncertain future, given that Project 2025 also calls for replacing tens of thousands of federal workers with political toadies beholden only to the White House.
    Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 28 July 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near suck (up)

Cite this Entry

“Suck (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suck%20%28up%29. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

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