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ruck
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As a noun, ruck means a throng or crowd of people or things. As a verb, it means contest the possession of the ball in a ruck.
Meanings of ruck
21 meaningsnoun
A throng or crowd of people or things; a mass, a pack.
In Australian rules football
A contest in games in which the ball is thrown or bounced in the air and two players from opposing teams attempt to give their team an advantage, typically by tapping the ball to a teammate.
A player who competes in said contests; a ruckman or ruckwoman.
now rareEither of a ruckman or a ruck rover, but not a rover.
Any one of a ruckman, a ruck rover or a rover; a follower.
rugby unionThe situation formed when a player carrying the ball is brought to the ground and one or more members of each side are engaged above the ball, trying to win possession of it; a loose scrum.
The common mass of people or things; the ordinary ranks.
colloquialAn argument or fight.
A crease, a wrinkle, a pucker, as on fabric.
slangespecially militaryA rucksack; a large backpack.
A small heifer.
A crowd especially of ordinary or undistinguished persons or things
“his brilliance raised him above the ruck”
“the children resembled a fairy herd”
Similar: herdAn irregular fold in an otherwise even surface (as in cloth)
Similar: pucker
Obsolete form of roc.
verb
rugby unionTo contest the possession of the ball in a ruck.
To crease or fold.
To become folded.
To carry a backpack while hiking or marching.
Older and rare meanings (2)
obsoleteTo act as a ruck in a stoppage in Australian rules football.
UKdialectobsoleteTo cower or huddle together; to squat; to sit, as a hen on eggs.
Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).