sucker

sucker

1. a young animal that is not yet weaned, esp a suckling pig

2. Zoology an organ that is specialized for sucking or adhering

3. a cup-shaped device, generally made of rubber, that may be attached to articles allowing them to adhere to a surface by suction

4. Botany

a. a strong shoot that arises in a mature plant from a root, rhizome, or the base of the main stem

b. a short branch of a parasitic plant that absorbs nutrients from the host

5. a pipe or tube through which a fluid is drawn by suction

6. any small mainly North American cyprinoid fish of the family Catostomidae, having toothless jaws and a large sucking mouth

7. any of certain fishes that have sucking discs, esp the clingfish or sea snail

8. a piston in a suction pump or the valve in such a piston

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

sucker

[′sək·ər]

(botany)

A shoot that develops rapidly from the lower portion of a plant, and usually at the expense of the plant.

(zoology)

A disk-shaped organ in various animals for adhering to or holding onto an individual, usually of another species.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

sucker

A shoot rising from a subterranean root or stem of a plant.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Sucker

 

(also, watershoot or water sprout), a shoot on the trunk or a thick branch of a tree that develops from dormant buds. Its leaves are larger than those of other shoots. Suckers are formed when a tree freezes, is pruned, or is given better lighting (for example, when neighboring trees are cut down). They are found frequently on oaks, maples, elms, black pop-lars, and Lombardy poplars. In fruit-bearing trees the suckers are usually destroyed because their growth decreases the number of flower buds, thereby decreasing also the fruit yield.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.