suck up to

suck up to — 片語動詞

  • suck up tobase form
  • sucks up to3rd person singular
  • sucking up to-ing form
  • sucked up topast simple

1. to be extra friendly or helpful toward someone with power or influence, hoping t

1.片語動詞及物B2
釋義

討好；巴結

用討好舉動爭取權勢者好感

to be extra friendly or helpful toward someone with power or influence, hoping they will like you or give you something you want

例句

Paloma laughed at every joke the director made, clearly sucking up to her.

Paloma 對主管講的每一個笑話都笑，明顯是在討好她。

clearly sucking up to [person]

Ada brought the manager handmade cookies, and everyone could tell she was sucking up.

Ada 帶了手工餅乾給經理，大家一看就知道她在巴結主管。

同義詞
  • flatter

    more general; can be sincere or insincere

  • butter up

    informal, same register but a separable phrasal verb

  • toady to

    more formal and less common; strongly negative

  • fawn over

    suggests excessive, obvious admiration

反義詞
  • criticise

    to express disapproval, the opposite of trying to please

  • confront

    to face someone directly rather than seek their approval

文法句型

suck up to + person

用法筆記

This phrasal verb is inseparable — the object always follows 'to'. Example: you suck up to the manager, not 'suck the manager up to'.

常見錯誤

❌He sucked the boss up to.
✅He sucked up to the boss.
💡'suck up to' is an inseparable phrasal verb; the object cannot split the parts.
❌She is sucking up to get a promotion.' (used without an object)
✅She is sucking up to the manager to get a promotion.
💡'suck up to' always takes a person as its object.