stuffing

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   A seasoned bread or rice mixture baked inside poultry, vegetables, or other food.

   Grammar: Usually uncountable, but you can say 'a stuffing' when talking about a particular type: a sausage and herb stuffing.

   Patterns

   • stuffing for something
   • make/prepare stuffing
   • a stuffing of something

   She made a sage and onion stuffing for the roast chicken.

   The turkey is filled with a bread stuffing before it goes in the oven.

   We always serve stuffing alongside the vegetables at Thanksgiving.

2. 2noununcountable

   Soft material such as foam or feathers used to fill cushions, pillows, or soft toys.

   Grammar: Names the material itself, so it has no plural: the stuffing is coming out of the teddy bear.

   Patterns

   • the stuffing is coming out
   • replace the stuffing
   • soft stuffing

   The dog tore the cushion and pulled out the stuffing.

   The stuffing in this pillow has gone lumpy, so I need a new one.

   They use recycled plastic fibers as stuffing for the toys.

3. 3noununcountable

   The act of pushing something tightly into a container or space.

   Grammar: Often used in fixed phrases about packing things in; the related verb is 'stuff'.

   Patterns

   • the stuffing of something
   • stuffing something into something

   The stuffing of clothes into one small suitcase took forever.

   He was fined for the illegal stuffing of waste into the drains.

Common combinations

sage and onion stuffing

Sage and onion stuffing is the classic partner for roast chicken.

bread stuffing

My grandmother's bread stuffing uses celery and plenty of butter.

stuffing mix

We were in a hurry, so we used a packet of stuffing mix.

the stuffing comes out

The stuffing is coming out of that old armchair.

knock the stuffing out of someone

The long trip really knocked the stuffing out of me.

Synonyms and how they differ

filling

The general word for what goes inside something; 'stuffing' is the usual choice for food mixtures and soft toy material.

dressing

The American term for the same food mixture, especially when it is baked in a separate dish rather than inside the bird.

padding

Suggests protective or shape-giving material; it does not usually refer to food.

Word family

stuff verb

To push something tightly into a space or fill something completely.

stuffed adjective

Filled with a mixture or material, as in a stuffed pepper or a stuffed toy.

stuff noun

Things in general, or the material something is made of, in informal use.

Commonly confused: stuffing or stuff?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “stuffing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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