stick

[ stik ]

/ stɪk /

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See synonyms for: stick / sticking / sticks / stuck on Thesaurus.com

noun

a branch or shoot of a tree or shrub that has been cut or broken off.

a relatively long and slender piece of wood.

a long piece of wood for use as fuel, in carpentry, etc.

a rod or wand.

a baton.

Chiefly British. a walking stick or cane.

a club or cudgel.

something that serves to goad or coerce: The threat of unemployment was the stick that kept the workers toiling overtime.Compare carrot (def. 3).

a long, slender piece or part of anything: a stick of candy; sticks of celery.

any of four equal parts in a pound of butter or margarine.

Sports. an implement used to drive or propel a ball or puck, as a crosse or a hockey stick.

Aeronautics. a lever, usually with a handle, by which the longitudinal and lateral motions of an airplane are controlled.

Nautical. a mast or spar.

Printing. composing stick.

the sticks, Informal. any region distant from cities or towns, as rural districts; the country: Having lived in a large city all his life, he found it hard to adjust to the sticks.

Military.

a group of bombs so arranged as to be released in a row across a target.
the bomb load.

Informal. stick shift.

Slang. a marijuana cigarette.

Informal. an unenthusiastic or uninteresting person.

Informal. a portion of liquor, as brandy, added to a nonalcoholic drink.

verb (used with object), sticked, stick·ing.

to furnish (a plant, vine, etc.) with a stick or sticks in order to prop or support.

Printing. to set (type) in a composing stick.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about stick

short / dirty end of the stick, Slang. the least desirable assignment, decision, or part of an arrangement.

Origin of stick

First recorded before 1000; Middle English stikke, stike, Old English sticca “stick, peg, spoon”; akin to Old High German stehho, Old Norse stik “stick”; akin to stick²

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

stickless, adjectivesticklike, adjective

Words nearby stick

sticharion, stichic, stichometry, stichomythia, -stichous, stick, stick around, stick at, stick-at-it-ive, stickball, stick-built

Other definitions for stick (2 of 2)

stick²

[ stik ]

/ stɪk /

verb (used with object), stuck, stick·ing.

to pierce or puncture with something pointed, as a pin, dagger, or spear; stab: to stick one's finger with a needle.

to kill by this means: to stick a pig.

to thrust (something pointed) in, into, through, etc.: to stick a needle into a pincushion.

to fasten in position by thrusting a point or end into something: to stick a peg in a pegboard.

to fasten in position by or as if by something thrust through: to stick a painting on the wall.

to put on or hold with something pointed; impale: to stick a marshmallow on a fork.

to decorate or furnish with things piercing the surface: to stick a cushion full of pins.

to furnish or adorn with things attached or set here and there: to stick shelves full of knickknacks.

to place upon a stick or pin for exhibit: to stick butterflies.

to thrust or poke into a place or position indicated: to stick one's head out of the window.

to place or set in a specified position; put: Stick the chair in the corner.

to fasten or attach by causing to adhere: to stick a stamp on a letter.

to bring to a standstill; render unable to proceed or go back (usually used in the passive): The car was stuck in the mud.

Carpentry. to start (a nail).

Ceramics. to join (pieces of partially hardened clay) together, using slip as an adhesive.

Chiefly British Informal. to tolerate; endure: He couldn't stick the job more than three days.

to confuse or puzzle; bewilder; perplex; nonplus: He was stuck by the very first problem on the test.

Informal. to impose something disagreeable upon (a person or persons), as a large bill or a difficult task: The committee persistently stuck him with fund collection.

Informal. to cheat.

Slang: Often Vulgar. to go to hell with: often used imperatively.

verb (used without object), stuck, stick·ing.

to have the point piercing or embedded in something: The arrow stuck in the tree.

to remain attached by adhesion.

to hold, cleave, or cling: The young rider stuck to the back of his terrified horse.

to remain persistently or permanently: a fact that sticks in the mind.

to remain firm, as in resolution, opinion, statement, or attachment; hold faithfully, as to a promise or bargain.

to keep or remain steadily or unremittingly, as to a task, undertaking, or the like: to stick to a job until it is finished.

to become fastened, hindered, checked, or stationary by some obstruction: Her zipper stuck halfway up.

to be at a standstill, as from difficulties: I'm stuck on this problem.

to be embarrassed or puzzled; hesitate or scruple (usually followed by at).

to be thrust or placed so as to extend, project, or protrude (usually followed by through, from, out, up, etc.).

noun

a thrust with a pointed instrument; stab.

a stoppage or standstill.

something causing delay or difficulty.

the quality of adhering or of causing things to adhere.

something causing adhesion.

Verb Phrases

stick around, Informal. to wait in the vicinity; linger: If you had stuck around, you'd have seen the fireworks.

stick by / to to maintain one's attachment or loyalty to; remain faithful to: They vowed to stick by one another no matter what happened.

stick out, to extend; protrude: Stick out your tongue. Your shirttail is sticking out.

stick up, Informal. to rob, especially at gunpoint: A lone gunman stuck up the gas station.

stick up for, to speak in favor of; come to the defense of; support: She always sticks up for him, even though he doesn't deserve it.

OTHER WORDS FOR stick

1 penetrate, spear.

6 transfix.

9 pin.

12 glue, cement, paste.

29 stickle, waver, doubt.

See synonyms for stick on Thesaurus.com

Origin of stick

First recorded before 900; Middle English stiken, stikken, Old English stician “to pierce, thrust”; akin to German stechen “to sting,” Latin -stīg- in instīgāre “to urge, incite,” Greek stízein “to stitch, tattoo, brand”; see also stigma, stitch

synonym study for stick

22. Stick, adhere, cohere mean to cling to or be tightly attached to something. Adhere implies that one kind of material clings tenaciously to another; cohere adds the idea that a thing is attracted to and held by something like itself: Particles of sealing wax cohere and form a mass that will adhere to tin. Stick, a more colloquial and general term, is used particularly when a third kind of material is involved: A gummed label will stick to a package.

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

stick·a·ble, adjectivestick·a·bil·i·ty, nounre·stick·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

ABOUT THIS WORD

What does stick mean?

Content warning: this article references guns.

Stick is a slang term for “gun,” especially an automatic rifle in Southern hip-hop in the U.S. That means you can “stick ’em up”… with a stick.

Where does stick come from?

The use of stick to refer to a “gun” or “rifle” can be traced back to as early as the 1840s. Stick, here, is due to the long, narrow, and stick-like appearance of a rifle as well as perhaps its wooden butt.

In 1900, President Theodore Roosevelt famously formulated his foreign policy as “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” This stick wasn’t necessarily a gun, but rather a collection of them, shall we say: he meant having a strong military was essential should diplomatic negotiations fail.

During the 1960s, rifles were called idiot sticks during the Vietnam war. Stick was also the title of a 1985 crime film starring Burt Reynolds and Candice Bergen. Stick is the main character’s nickname, but it also calls up his car-thief, gun-wielding ways.

Stick, for a “rifle” like an AK-47 assault rifle, was popularized by Southern hip-hop, especially in Atlanta, Georgia and Miami, Florida. Urban Dictionary entries for it went up in 2010, though an earlier one from 2007 notes stick‘s use for a handgun or pistol in the UK.

Future released “Stick Talk” in 2015 on which he raps about the firepower of sticks. On his viral 2016 “Dat $tick,” Rich Brian also uses stick in his lyrics. On verified annotations on Genius, Brian, an Indonesian rapper based in Los Angeles, confirms that stick is slang for “gun.”

How is stick used in real life?

Stick is prevalent as hip-hop slang, usually featured in threats or acts of aggression about urban life. Atlanta rapper SahBabii came into the spotlight with his 2016 “Pull Up Wit Ah Stick,” where he raps: “Pull up with the stick, let it hit / I put this on the ten, I’ma end.”

Hip-hop helped the slang spread into the popular lexicon, where, especially online, people have made humorous riffs on lyrics like SahBabii’s pulling up with a stick.

pull up with a stick pic.twitter.com/UAqWNR7tmC

— ItsTheReal (@itsthereal) May 6, 2017

pull up with a stick #Halloween2k18 pic.twitter.com/UdpSVDD7E2

— wimp wamp :) (@demahjiae) October 29, 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.

How to use stick in a sentence

At 14 hives, the researchers used a balloon tied to a stick to chase off hornets, says Otis.
Honeybees fend off deadly hornets by decorating hives with poop|Asher Jones|January 19, 2021|Science News For Students
Let’s start with the stick vacuumVacuum cleaners these days come in all shapes and sizes and there are various aspects you might want to think about when working out which one you want.
Best vacuum cleaner: How to tidy up fast|Charlotte Marcus|January 14, 2021|Popular-Science
If he had 10 plates spinning on sticks before, now he’s got 20.
Americans across the political spectrum fear what the Capitol attack portends|Annie Gowen, Jenna Johnson, Holly Bailey|January 12, 2021|Washington Post
If crosspieces are in the right place, your toes should be covering the first stick you tied, and your heels should be covering the second stick you tied, for each shoe.
How to build snowshoes on the fly—and 4 other tips for surviving deep snow|By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life|January 5, 2021|Popular-Science

This guy’s charging at them, with a knife in one hand, a stick in the other, screaming at them, in a confined space.
“Nobody” Hurt, “Just a Perp,” Say Officers After NYPD Shot and Killed Man in His Own Home|by Eric Umansky|January 4, 2021|ProPublica
Added to drinking water at concentrations of around one part per million, fluoride ions stick to dental plaque.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
He wore white gloves, a dignified long black coat, and matching pants and vest, and he carried a dark walking stick.
The Black Man Who Replaced Jefferson Davis in the Senate|Philip Dray|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
After some animated debate at the conference, Lelaie declared, with some frustration, “If you push on the stick, you will fly.”
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The birds poop all over the forest, and thanks to the viscin, the mistletoe seeds in said poop stick to branches.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants|Helen Thompson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And for Larry Flynt, this might be a monumental opportunity to stick it to the dictator the best way he knows how.
Kim Jong Un, Avert Your Eyes: Sony’s ‘The Interview’ Gets the Porn Parody Treatment|Aurora Snow|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You see, they always butter their chairs so that they won't stick fast when they sit down.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
Whoever succeeded in getting the ring on his stick won the game, and carried the prize home as a sign of victory.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
By using his walking stick he discovered that they formed a trail to a point in the wall.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
I am not informed further; but inasmuch as you are living on the place, my advice is that you stick right there, and hold it.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The last time I tried it, I caught the end of my stick between two rocks and it broke.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd

British Dictionary definitions for stick (1 of 2)

stick¹

/ (stɪk) /

noun

a small thin branch of a tree

any long thin piece of wood
such a piece of wood having a characteristic shape for a special purposea walking stick; a hockey stick
a baton, wand, staff, or rod

an object or piece shaped like a sticka stick of celery; a stick of dynamite

See control stick

informal the lever used to change gear in a motor vehicle

nautical a mast or yard

printing See composing stick

a group of bombs arranged to fall at intervals across a target
a number of paratroops jumping in sequence

slang

verbal abuse, criticismI got some stick for that blunder
physical power, force (esp in the phrase give it some stick)

(usually plural) a piece of furniturethese few sticks are all I have

(plural) informal a rural area considered remote or backward (esp in the phrase in the sticks)

(plural) Canadian West coast and Northwestern Canadian informal the wooded interior part of the country

(plural) hockey a declaration made by the umpire if a player's stick is above the shoulders

(plural) goalposts

US obsolete a cannabis cigarette

a means of coercion

informal a dull boring person

(usually preceded by old) informal a familiar name for a personnot a bad old stick

in a cleft stick in a difficult position

wrong end of the stick a complete misunderstanding of a situation, explanation, etc

verb sticks, sticking or sticked

to support (a plant) with sticks; stake

Word Origin for stick

Old English sticca; related to Old Norse stikka, Old High German stecca

British Dictionary definitions for stick (2 of 2)

stick²

/ (stɪk) /

verb sticks, sticking or stuck

(tr) to pierce or stab with or as if with something pointed

to thrust or push (a sharp or pointed object) or (of a sharp or pointed object) to be pushed into or through another object

(tr) to fasten in position by pushing or forcing a point into somethingto stick a peg in a hole

(tr) to fasten in position by or as if by pins, nails, etcto stick a picture on the wall

(tr) to transfix or impale on a pointed object

(tr) to cover with objects piercing or set in the surface

(when intr, foll by out, up, through, etc) to put forward or be put forward; protrude or cause to protrudeto stick one's head out of the window

(tr) informal to place or put in a specified positionstick your coat on this chair

to fasten or be fastened by or as if by an adhesive substancestick the pages together; they won't stick

(tr) informal to cause to become sticky

(when tr, usually passive) to come or cause to come to a standstillwe were stuck for hours in a traffic jam; the wheels stuck

(intr) to remain for a long timethe memory sticks in my mind

(tr) slang, mainly British to tolerate; abideI can't stick that man

(intr) to be reluctant

(tr; usually passive) informal to cause to be at a loss; baffle, puzzle, or confuseI was totally stuck for an answer

(tr) slang to force or impose something unpleasant onthey stuck me with the bill for lunch

(tr) to kill by piercing or stabbing

stick in one's throat or stick in one's craw informal to be difficult, or against one's conscience, for one to accept, utter, or believe

stick one's nose into See nose (def. 17)

stick to the ribs informal (of food) to be hearty and satisfying

noun

the state or condition of adhering

informal a substance causing adhesion

obsolete something that causes delay or stoppage

Word Origin for stick

Old English stician; related to Old High German stehhan to sting, Old Norse steikja to roast on a spit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with stick

stick

In addition to the idioms beginning with stick

stick around
stick at
stick by
stick in one's craw
stick it
stick it to someone
stick one's neck out
stick out
stick to
stick together
stick to one's guns
stick to one's last
stick to the ribs
stick up
stick up for
stick with
sticky fingers

also see:

carrot and stick
get on the stick
make stick
more than one can shake a stick at
short end of the stick
stand (stick) up for
wrong end of the stick

Also see understuck.

stick

Idioms about stick

Origin of stick

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

Words nearby stick

Other definitions for stick (2 of 2)

OTHER WORDS FOR stick

Origin of stick

synonym study for stick

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

ABOUT THIS WORD

What does stick mean?

Where does stick come from?

How is stick used in real life?

Note

Words related to stick

How to use stick in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stick (1 of 2)

Word Origin for stick

British Dictionary definitions for stick (2 of 2)

Word Origin for stick

Other Idioms and Phrases with stick