sic

¹ American  

[sik] / sɪk /

Or sick

verb (used with object)

sicced, sicked, siccing, sicking

1. to attack (used especially in commanding a dog).

   Sic 'em!

2. to incite to attack (usually followed byon ).

---

sic ² American  

[sik] / sɪk /

adjective

Chiefly Scot.

1. such.

---

sic ³ American  

[seek, sik] / sik, sɪk /

adverb

Latin.

1. so; thus: usually written parenthetically to denote that a word, phrase, passage, etc., that may appear strange or incorrect has been written intentionally or has been quoted verbatim.

   He signed his name as e. e. cummings (sic).

---

SIC ⁴ American  

U.S. Government.

1. Standard Industrial Classification: a system used by the federal government to classify business activities for analytical and reporting purposes.

---

Sic. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Sicilian.

2. Sicily.

---

sic ¹ British  

/ sɪk /

verb

1. to turn on or attack: used only in commands, as to a dog

2. to urge (a dog) to attack

---

sic ² British  

/ sɪk /

adverb

1. so or thus: inserted in brackets in a written or printed text to indicate that an odd or questionable reading is what was actually written or printed

---

sic ³ British  

/ sɪk /

determiner

1. a Scot word for such

---

sic Cultural  

1. A Latin word for “thus,” used to indicate that an apparent error is part of quoted material and not an editorial mistake: “The learned geographer asserts that ‘the capital of the United States is Washingtown [sic].’”

---

Etymology

Origin of sic¹

First recorded in 1835–45; variant of seek

Origin of sic²

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English (north and Scots); such

Origin of sic³

First recorded in 1885–90; from Latin sīc

Explanation

When urging your dog to chase a thief, you might say, "Sic 'em, Fluffy!" When writing something that might look wrong, you add "[sic]" to indicate you know it's wrong. When you’re writing a paper and you want to quote a source, but the source contains a misspelling or some other error, you use the word [sic] after the quote so that whoever reads your paper knows the mistake is in the original source, rather than in your own sloppy typing. It’s kind of a way of saying, “Yeah, I know this is wrong, but let’s just be clear — I didn't do it!”

Example Sentences

The sic of it all is worth a little attention.

From Slate • Nov. 14, 2025

It won’t matter that Snyder tried to sic a private investigator on the commissioner.

From Washington Post • Dec. 9, 2022

Whatever the substance of his personal feud with Mitchell may be, it comes shortly after his attempt to sic his followers on a journalist after being duped by a fake Twitter account.

From Salon • Sep. 28, 2021

Sometimes, with fiction, it’s sic biscuitus disintegratum — that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2021

She might even be mad enough at that point to sic the cops onto me.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

Related Words

• arouse
• cause
• convince
• draw
• elicit
• help
• indicate
• induce
• inspire
• motivate
• persuade
• propel
• provoke
• spur
• stimulate
• suggest
• urge