STUFF, n. [G., See Stove and Stew.]

1. A mass of matter, indefinitely; or a collection of substances; as, a heap of dust, of chips or of dross.
2. The matter of which any thing is formed; materials. The carpenter and joiner speak of the stuff with which they build; mechanics pride themselves on having their wares made of good stuff. Time is the stuff which life is made of. – Franklin. Degrading prose explains his meaning ill, / And shows the stuff, and not the workman's skill. – Roscommon. Cesar hath wept; / Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. – Shak.
3. Furniture; goods; domestic vessels in general. He took away locks, and gave away the king's stuff. [Nearly obsolete.] – Hayward.
4. That which fills any thing. Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff / That weighs upon the heart. – Shak.
5. Essence; elemental part; as, the stuff of the conscience.
6. A medicine. [Vulgar.] – Shak.
7. Cloth; fabrics of the loom; as, silk stuffs; woolen stuffs. In this sense the word has a plural. Stuff comprehends all cloths, but it signifies particularly woolen cloth of slight texture for linings. – Encyc.
8. Matter or thing; particularly, that which is trifling or worthless; a very extensive use of the word. Flattery is fulsome stuff; poor poetry is miserable stuff. Anger would indite / Such woful stuff as I or Shadwell write. – Dryden.
9. Among seamen, a melted mass of turpentine, tallow, &c., with which the masts sides und bottom of a ship are smeared. – Mar. Dict.

To feed gluttonously. Taught harmless man to cram and stuff. – Swift.

1. To fill; as, to stuff a bedtick.
2. To fill very full; to crowd. This crook drew hazel boughs adown, / And stuff'd her apron wide with nuts so brown. – Gay.
3. To thrust in; to crowd; to press. Put roses into a glass with a narrow mouth, ending them close together. – Bacon.
4. To fill by being put into any thing. With inward arms the dire machine they load, / And iron bowels stuff the dark abode. – Dryden.
5. To swell or cause to bulge out by putting something in. Stuff me out with straw. – Shak.
6. To fill with something improper. For thee I dim these eyes, and stuff this head / With all such reading as was never read. – Pope.
7. To obstruct, as any of the organs. / I'm stuff'd, cousin; I can not smell. – Shak.
8. To fill meat with seasoning; as, to stuff a leg of veal.
9. To fill the akin of a dead animal for presenting and preserving his form; as, to stuff a bird or a lion's skin.
10. To form by filling. An eastern king put a judge to death for an iniquitous sentence and ordered his hide to be stuffed into a cushion, and placed upon the tribunal. – Swift.

1. Material which is to be worked up in any process of manufacture.
   
   

   For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. Ex. xxxvi. 7.

   Ambitions should be made of sterner stuff. Shak.

   The workman on his stuff his skill doth show,
   And yet the stuff gives not the man his skill. Sir J. Davies.

2. To fill by crowding something into; to cram with something; to load to excess; as, to stuff a bedtick.
   
   

   Sometimes this crook drew hazel bought adown,
   And stuffed her apron wide with nuts so brown. Gay.

   Lest the gods, for sin,
   Should with a swelling dropsy stuff thy skin. Dryden.

3. To feed gluttonously; to cram.
   
   

   Taught harmless man to cram and stuff. Swift.

4. The fundamental material of which anything is made up; elemental part; essence.
   
   

   Yet do I hold it very stuff o' the conscience
   To do no contrived murder. Shak.

5. To thrust or crowd; to press; to pack.
   
   

   Put roses into a glass with a narrow mouth, stuffing them close together . . . and they retain smell and color. Bacon.

6. Woven material not made into garments; fabric of any kind; specifically, any one of various fabrics of wool or worsted; sometimes, worsted fiber.
   
   

   What stuff wilt have a kirtle of? Shak.

   It [the arras] was of stuff and silk mixed, though, superior kinds were of silk exclusively. F. G. Lee.

7. To fill by being pressed or packed into.
   
   

   With inward arms the dire machine they load,
   And iron bowels stuff the dark abode. Dryden.

8. Furniture; goods; domestic vessels or utensils.
   
   

   He took away locks, and gave away the king's stuff. Hayward.

9. To fill with a seasoning composition of bread, meat, condiments, etc.; as, to stuff a turkey.
10. A medicine or mixture; a potion.
    
    
    Shak.
11. To obstruct, as any of the organs; to affect with some obstruction in the organs of sense or respiration.
    
    

    I'm stuffed, cousin; I can not smell. Shak.

12. Refuse or worthless matter; hence, also, foolish or irrational language; nonsense; trash.
    
    

    Anger would indite
    Such woeful stuff as I or Shadwell write. Dryden.

13. To fill the skin of, for the purpose of preserving as a specimen; -- said of birds or other animals.
14. A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication.
    
    
    Ham. Nav. Encyc.
15. To form or fashion by packing with the necessary material.
    
    

    An Eastern king put a judge to death for an iniquitous sentence, and ordered his hide to be stuffed into a cushion, and placed upon the tribunal. Swift.

16. Paper stock ground ready for use.
    
    

    * When partly ground, called half stuff. Knight.

    Clear stuff. See under Clear. -- Small stuff (Naut.), all kinds of small cordage. Ham. Nav. Encyc. -- Stuff gown, the distinctive garb of a junior barrister; hence, a junior barrister himself. See Silk gown, under Silk.

17. To crowd with facts; to cram the mind of; sometimes, to crowd or fill with false or idle tales or fancies.
18. To put fraudulent votes into (a ballot box).
    
    
    [U. S.]