US /ˈpʌkɚ/ UK /ˈpʌkə/
verb noun Freq #29405

Meanings

  1. 1
    verb

    to draw, or become drawn, into small tight wrinkles or folds

    She began to pucker her lips as if preparing to whistle.

  2. 2
    noun

    a wrinkle, fold, or gathered area in skin, fabric, or another surface

    The tailor smoothed a pucker near the edge of the seam.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 verb · to draw, or become drawn,... wrinklepursegathercrumple
2 noun · a wrinkle, fold, or... wrinklefoldcrease
Opposites
Word family
Forms puckeredpuckeringpuckers
Derived forms puckerlesspuckeryunpucker
Related forms wrinklefoldcreasepurse

Etymology

Of uncertain origin. It may continue Middle English pukkeren, once meaning to put away in a poke or bag, with a shift toward the gathered shape of a bag's mouth; it may instead be an alteration of poke. The comparison with purse supports the sense of drawing a surface into folds.

Topics

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