Chuck, n. 1. A slight blow or pat under the chin.
2. A short throw; a toss.
3. (Mach.) A contrivance or machine fixed to the mandrel of a lathe, for holding a tool or the material to be operated upon.
Chuck farthing, a play in which a farthing is pitched into a hole; pitch farthing. — Chuck hole, a deep hole in a wagon rut. — Elliptic chuck, a chuck having a slider and an eccentric circle, which, as the work turns round, give it a sliding motion across the center which generates an ellipse. Knight.