suck up
verb
Simple meaning
To adulate or flatter too, generally to get some personal benefit or favour.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suhkuhpSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsʌˈkʌp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
slangoften followed by to
To adulate or flatter (someone) excessively, generally to obtain some personal benefit or favour.
slang
To fellate (someone).
transitive
To absorb (fluid).
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To adulate or flatter (someone) excessively, generally to obtain some personal benefit or favour.
Used this way, suck up is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Very casual
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Playful and informal
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Usage note
Slang: natural in speech and messages between friends, but out of place in school, work or published writing.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.