overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

stuff.

Miscellaneous items or objects; (with possessive) personal effects.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/stʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/stɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/stʊf/Northern-England
  1. Miscellaneous items or objects; (with possessive) personal effects.

    informal · uncountable · usually
    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.
  2. Miscellaneous items or objects; (with possessive) personal effects. Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils.

    informal · obsolete · uncountable · usually
  3. Unspecified things or matters.

    informal · uncountable · usually
    I had to do some stuff.
  4. The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object.

    uncountable · usually
  5. The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object. A material for making clothing; any woven textile, but especially a woollen fabric.

    archaic · uncountable · usually
  6. The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object. Boards used for building.

    archaic · uncountable · usually
  7. The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object. Abstract/figurative substance or character.

    uncountable · usually
  8. The tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object. Pulp; paper stock ground ready for use. When partly ground, it is called half stuff.

    dated · uncountable · usually
  9. Used as placeholder, usually for material of unknown type or name.

    informal · uncountable · usually
    Can I have some of that stuff on my ice-cream sundae?
  10. Narcotic drugs, especially heroin.

    slang · uncountable · usually
  11. A medicine or mixture; a potion.

    obsolete · uncountable · usually
  12. Refuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or irrational language.

    euphemistic · sometimes · uncountable · usually
    Don't give me any of that 'what-about' stuff!
  13. A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication.

    uncountable · usually
  14. Money.

    dated · slang · uncountable · usually
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/stʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/stɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/stʊf/Northern-England
  1. To fill by packing or crowding something into; to cram with something; to load to excess.

    transitive
    I'm going to stuff this pillow with feathers.
  2. To fill a space with (something) in a compressed manner.

    transitive
    He stuffed his clothes into the closet and shut the door.
  3. To fill with seasoning.

    transitive
    She stuffed the turkey for Thanksgiving using her secret recipe.
  4. To load goods into (a container) for transport.

    transitive
  5. To sate.

    transitive
    I’m stuffed after having eaten all that turkey, mashed potatoes and delicious stuffing.
  6. To eat, especially in a hearty or greedy manner.

    pronominal · usually
    She sits on the sofa all day, watching TV and stuffing herself with cream buns.
  7. To break; to destroy.

    Australia · New-Zealand · UK · transitive
    He skidded off the road and totally stuffed his brand new car.
  8. To sexually penetrate.

    Australia · New-Zealand · UK · transitive · vulgar
    His wife came home early and found him on the couch stuffing the maid.
  9. Used to contemptuously dismiss or reject something. See also stuff it.

    imperative · mildly · often · transitive · vulgar
    Stuff your stupid rules, I'll do what I like.
  10. To heavily defeat or get the better of.

    informal
    Mudchester Rovers were stuffed 7–0 in the semi-final.
    They totally stuffed us in that business deal.
  11. To cut off another competitor in a race by disturbing his projected and committed racing line (trajectory) by an abrupt manoeuvre.

    transitive
    I got stuffed by that guy on the supermoto going into that turn, almost causing us to crash.
  12. To preserve a dead bird or other animal by filling its skin.

  13. To obstruct, as any of the organs; to affect with some obstruction in the organs of sense or respiration.

    transitive
  14. To form or fashion by packing with the necessary material.

    transitive
  15. To crowd with facts; to cram the mind of; sometimes, to crowd or fill with false or idle tales or fancies.

    dated · transitive
  16. To compress (a file or files) in the StuffIt format, to be unstuffed later.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English stuffen (“to equip, furnish”), borrowed from Old French 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.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

stuff has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

stuff studiostuff workshello, stuff

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.