Definition of SHUCK

shuck

Plural: shucks

Noun

  • material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
  • The shell or husk, especially of grains (e.g. corn/maize) or nuts (e.g. walnuts).
  • A fraud; a scam.
  • A phony.
  • A supernatural and generally malevolent black dog in English folklore.

Verb

Verb Forms: shucked, shucking, shucks

  • To remove the outer husk or shell from something, like corn.
  • remove from the shell
    • "shuck oysters"
  • remove the shucks from
    • "shuck corn"
  • To remove the shuck from (walnuts, oysters, etc.).
  • To remove (any outer covering).
  • To remove (an external hard drive or solid-state drive) from its casing so that it can be used inside another device.
  • To fool; to hoax.
  • To shake; shiver.
  • To slither or slip, move about, wriggle.
  • To do hurriedly or in a restless way.
  • To avoid; baffle, outwit, shirk.
  • To walk at a slow trot.

Examples

  • I will shuck my clothes and dive naked into the pool.
  • Shall we shuck walnuts?
  • You have to shuck through many letter combinations to find the perfect word for your rack.

Origin / Etymology

Origin unknown. Possibly a dialectal survival of unrecorded Middle English *schulk(e), *schullok (“small shell”); either from Old English *sċylluc, *sċylloc, diminutive of Old English sċyll (“shell”), or alternatively created in Middle English from Middle English schulle, schelle (“shell, husk, pod”) + -ok, making it equivalent to shell + -ock (diminutive suffix) or shell + -k (diminutive suffix).

Scrabble Score: 14

shuck: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
shuck: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
shuck: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

shuck: valid Words With Friends Word