sticker

American  

[stik-er] / ˈstɪk ər /

noun

• stickers
  plural

1. a person or thing that sticks.

2. an adhesive label.

3. Informal. sticker price.

4. something, as a problem or riddle, that puzzles or nonpluses one.

5. Slang. a knife, especially one used as a weapon by a criminal.

6. a worker who kills animals in a slaughterhouse by piercing the jugular vein with a pointed instrument.

7. a bur, thorn, or the like.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the sticker price of an automobile.

   Customers are experiencing sticker shock at the high price of new cars.

verb (used with object)

1. to place a sticker on.

sticker British  

/ ˈstɪkə /

noun

1. an adhesive label, poster, or paper

2. a person or thing that sticks

3. a persevering or industrious person

4. something prickly, such as a thorn, that clings to one's clothing, etc

5. informal something that perplexes

6. informal a knife used for stabbing or piercing

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stickers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sticker

First recorded in 1575–85; stick ² + -er ¹

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Explanation

A sticker is a label or a decoration with a sticky back, so it can be pasted anywhere. If you're a big fan of superheroes, you might cover your notebooks with Wonder Woman stickers. Sticker usually refers to the kitten stickers your brother sticks on his bedroom windows or the adhesive labels that you peel off your banana. Some plants also have stickers (also known as burrs, prickles, or thorns) — the kind that get stuck in your sweater after a walk in the woods. The term sticker price means the listed price for a car or some other item offered for sale.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sticker stickers

Electric bill sticker shock is common for customers of investor-owned utilities, but less so for municipally owned utilities such as DWP.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Besides, nobody ever said, nor ever put on a campaign sticker, “The establishment? It’s cool!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

So while sticker prices are rising less quickly than they once did, they still register to many Americans as unacceptably high.

From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026

But longer cycles also put them under greater pressure to deliver new AI capabilities and other features compelling enough for customers to overcome the sticker shock.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

My throbbing hands were covered with sticker wounds from getting all the gooseberries into the pail.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

Earlier this week, Anthropic hosted a limited giveaway of “Clawd” plushies and stickers — a reference to the pixelated crab logo featured in the Claude Code terminal tool.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

The cameras compile license plate numbers and other identifying information, including make, model, paint color, dents and bumper stickers.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

A Swedish designer, Mateusz Pozar, launched a "Ban Ray" site earlier this year, providing signs to ban smart glasses from venues and selling stickers.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Flock has 120,000 cameras in 49 states that capture 20 billion license plates a month—along with dents, bumper stickers and other identifying features, reports Kris Maher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

I see myself sitting cross-legged like I am now, but I'm showing Khalil how to do the price stickers.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

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Related Words

• amount
• bill
• cost
• demand
• discount
• estimate
• expenditure
• expense
• fare
• fee
• figure
• output
• pay
• payment
• premium
• rate
• return
• tariff
• valuation
• worth

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