stuck

American  

[stuhk] / stʌk /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of stick.

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idioms

1. stuck on, infatuated with.

   He met her only once and is already stuck on her.

stuck British  

/ stʌk /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of stick 2

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adjective

1. informal baffled or nonplussed

2. slang (foll by on) keen (on) or infatuated (with)

3. informal

   1. to perform (a task) with determination

   2. to attack (a person) verbally or physically

Other Word Forms

• self-stuck
  adjective

Explanation

Stuck describes something that's frozen or fixed in one place and can't be moved. If your foot gets stuck in the mud, it means you can't get your foot out of its messy trap. The lid of a jar can be stuck, and your car can get stuck in traffic; either way, the thing that's stuck isn't going anywhere. You can also use stuck when you can't figure out what to do: you can be stuck on an especially hard math problem or feel stuck in a complicated relationship. The verb stick comes from the Old English stician, pierce or remain fastened.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stuck

Superior torque means the electric versions get stuck less frequently than their diesel-powered counterparts, but photographer and guide Mark Dunsmuir said the real prize is the sound of life on the tundra.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Berkers is the captain of a restaurant boat that is now listing heavily after becoming stuck in the riverbank.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

But Simpson got into rhythm on the next series as offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase stuck with calls for play-action and rollouts that resulted in mostly wide-open targets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

"Today the voters in Clacton have stuck two fingers up at the entire political establishment," Farage said.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

My breath gets stuck halfway into my lungs.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison