suction
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Creating an imbalance in pressure to draw matter from one place to another.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suhkshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsʌkʃən
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.
noun
The process of creating an imbalance in pressure to draw matter from one place to another.
physics
A force over an area produced by a pressure difference
physics
A force which pushes matter from one space into another because the pressure inside the second space is lower than the pressure in the first.
physics
A force holding two objects together because the pressure in the space between the items is lower than the pressure outside that space.
informal
Influence; "pull".
verb
To create an imbalance in pressure between one space and another in order to draw matter between the spaces.
To draw out the contents of a space.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The process of creating an imbalance in pressure to draw matter from one place to another.
Used this way, suction is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use suction
- “The doctors had to suction the water from the patient's lungs.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A cup-shaped device (made of rubber, glass, or plastic) that produces a partial vacuum.
A method of induced abortion.
Lipectomy (especially for cosmetic purposes) in which excess fatty tissue is removed from under the skin by suction.
A pump for raising fluids by suction.
A stop consonant made by the suction of air into the mouth (as in Bantu).
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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.