Meaning & use
chuck
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Meanings
verbtransitiveinformal
To throw something casually, without taking much care about where it lands.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with a direction: chuck the ball to me.
Patterns
- chuck something to someone
- chuck something in something
- chuck something away
He chucked his bag onto the sofa and went to make tea.
Chuck me the keys, would you?
She chucked the old magazines in the recycling bin.
verbtransitiveinformalBritish
To get rid of something or end something, such as a job, habit or relationship.
Grammar: Takes an object; common in British English: chuck a job in.
Patterns
- chuck something in
- chuck someone
- chuck something out
He chucked his job in and moved to the coast.
She chucked her boyfriend last week.
We chucked out the broken chairs.
noununcountableAmerican
A cut of beef from the neck and shoulder area, often used for stews and ground meat.
Grammar: Uncountable when meaning the meat: a pound of chuck.
Patterns
- chuck steak
- chuck roast
We braised a chuck roast for dinner.
Ground chuck makes juicy burgers.
Chuck is cheaper than sirloin.
nouncountabletechnical
The part of a drill or lathe that holds the bit or work firmly in place.
Grammar: Countable: tighten the chuck.
Patterns
- the chuck of something
- tighten the chuck
He tightened the chuck before drilling.
The chuck slipped and the bit fell out.
This lathe has a three-jaw chuck.
Word forms
| third person singular | chucks |
|---|---|
| past tense | chucked |
| past participle | chucked |
| -ing form | chucking |
Common combinations
- chuck it in the bin
- If it's broken, just chuck it in the bin.
- chuck away
- Don't chuck away that box; I need it.
- chuck out
- They chucked out the noisy guests.
- chuck a sickie
- He chucked a sickie and went to the beach.
- chuck up
- The kid chucked up after the roller coaster.
- chuck roast
- A chuck roast simmered for hours in the oven.
Synonyms and how they differ
- toss
- Toss suggests a light, easy throw, and it is a little more neutral than chuck, which is casual and sometimes careless.
- fling
- Fling suggests a sudden, wild throw with more force than chuck.
- hurl
- Hurl means to throw hard and far, which is more violent than chuck.
- ditch
- Ditch is informal for getting rid of something, and it fits abandoned plans or people better than a simple throw.
Opposites
Word family
- chuck-wagon noun
- a wagon carrying food on a cattle drive
- chucked adjective
- thrown away or abandoned
Commonly confused: chuck or check? chuck or chunk?
chuck vs check
Check means to examine, so do not write chuck when you mean to look at something.
chuck vs chunk
A chunk is a thick piece of something, which has nothing to do with throwing.
Practice
I'm going to ___ these old receipts into the trash.
Choose one answer.
Chuck means to throw casually, which fits tossing receipts away; check means examine, chunk is a piece, and chock is a wedge.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chuck”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.