Advertisement

sucker (n.)

"young mammal before it is weaned," late 14c., agent noun from suck. Slang meaning "person who is easily deceived" is first attested 1836, American English, on notion of naivete; but another theory traces the slang meaning to the fish called a sucker (1753), on the notion of being easy to catch in their annual migrations (the fish so called from the shape of its mouth). As a type of candy from 1823; especially "lollipop" by 1907. Meaning "shoot from the base of a tree or plant" is from 1570s. Also the old name of inhabitants of Illinois.

sucker (v.)

"to deceive, to make a dupe of," 1939, from sucker (n.) in the related sense. Related: Suckered; suckering.

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of sucker from WordNet

sucker (n.)
a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of;
Synonyms: chump / fool / gull / mark / patsy / fall guy / soft touch / mug
sucker (n.)
a shoot arising from a plant's roots;
sucker (n.)
a drinker who sucks (as at a nipple or through a straw);
sucker (n.)
flesh of any of numerous North American food fishes with toothless jaws;
sucker (n.)
hard candy on a stick;
Synonyms: lollipop / all-day sucker
sucker (n.)
an organ specialized for sucking nourishment or for adhering to objects by suction;
sucker (n.)
mostly North American freshwater fishes with a thick-lipped mouth for feeding by suction; related to carps;
From wordnet.princeton.edu