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# stuff

«stuff» in Mova's school dictionary: **Things in general, when you do not need to name them:…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (stuff — uncountable); verb (stuff, stuffs, stuffed, stuffing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Things in general, when you do not need to name them: "Put your stuff in your bag." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#m1)

2) A material or substance: "What is this sticky stuff?" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#m2)

3) To fill something tightly: "stuff a pillow", "stuff a turkey". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#m3)

4) To push something quickly into a small space: "He stuffed the letter into his pocket." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#m4)

5) Informally, "I'm stuffed" means I have eaten too much. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life "stuff" is a very common, informal word; at school a teacher might say "Get your stuff ready". In cooking, people stuff peppers or a chicken. In writing lessons, pupils are told to use more exact words instead of "stuff" and "things". Phrases: and stuff, stuffed animal, stuffed toy, I'm stuffed, know your stuff.

### examples

- Put your stuff away before lunch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#x1)
- What is this green stuff on the bread? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#x2)
- She stuffed her clothes into the suitcase. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#x3)
- We stuffed the turkey for Christmas dinner. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#x4)
- I'm stuffed, I couldn't eat another bite. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#x5)
- My teddy is a stuffed toy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#x6)
- Our science teacher really knows her stuff. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#x7)
- "Cucumbers stuffed with pearls!" exclaimed the princess. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/#x8)

### note

The noun is uncountable: "a lot of stuff", never "stuffs" or "a stuff". It is informal; in careful writing use "things", "belongings" or the exact name. "Stuffing" is the food put inside a chicken or the soft material inside a toy. Safety: mouldy green stuff on bread means it has gone bad; throw it away.

### In the corpora

- [The green stuff in leaves, chlorophyll, is what catches the light.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/251-plants-deeper-leaves-and-sunlight-how-a-tree-is-made-of-air/3/)
- [Instead, a curtain of baleen plates hangs from the upper jaw, made of keratin, the same stuff as your fingernails.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/312-whales-by-kind-the-baleen-whales-blue-fin-humpback-grey-right-and-minke/1/)
- [Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same stuff as hair and nails, so they rot away and rarely become fossils.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/385-ice-age-ukraine-and-europe-cave-bears-cave-lions-the-siberian-unicorn-and-mammoth-bone-houses/13/)
- [She walks off; looking back, she sees them trying to stuff the Dormouse into the teapot.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/14-alice-a-mad-tea-party-2/11/)
- [Alice: «Stuff and nonsense!](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/24-alice-alices-evidence-2/28/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «stuff» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stuff/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.