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pucker

/ˈpəkər/

/ˈpəkə/

Other forms: puckered; puckering; puckers

Pucker is a verb for what happens when something smooth or flat gets folded up into little wrinkles, like how you pucker your lips when you go to kiss someone — you, wild flirt, you!

When you use a sewing machine, sometimes the cloth puckers in wrinkly clumps that make it hard to sew in a straight line. Most of the time, it’s lips that do the puckering, maybe because you want a kiss, but also sucking on a lemon can make your lips pucker. If someone tells you to “pucker up,” they might want to kiss you, or they might throw a sour pickle at your head. Either way, get ready.

Definitions of pucker
  1. verb
    gather something into small wrinkles or folds
    “She puckered her lips”
    synonyms: cockle, crumple, knit, rumple
    draw
    contract
    see moresee less
    type of:
    crease, crinkle, crisp, ruckle, scrunch, scrunch up, wrinkle
    make wrinkles or creases on a smooth surface; make a pressed, folded or wrinkled line in
  2. verb
    draw together into folds or puckers
    synonyms: gather, tuck
    see moresee less
    type of:
    run up, sew, sew together, stitch
    fasten by sewing; do needlework
  3. verb
    become wrinkled or drawn together
    “her lips puckered
    synonyms: ruck, ruck up
    see moresee less
    type of:
    crease, crinkle, crisp, ruckle, scrunch, scrunch up, wrinkle
    make wrinkles or creases on a smooth surface; make a pressed, folded or wrinkled line in
  4. noun
    an irregular fold in an otherwise even surface (as in cloth)
    synonyms: ruck
    see moresee less
    type of:
    bend, crease, crimp, flexure, fold, plication
    an angular or rounded shape made by folding
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