stick-up
Britishnoun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012verb
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slang (tr) to rob, esp at gunpoint
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informal to support or defend
stick up for oneself
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Project from a surface, as in That little cowlick of his sticks up no matter what you do . [Early 1400s]
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Put up a poster or notice, as in Will you stick up this announcement on the bulletin board? [Late 1700s]
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Rob, especially at gunpoint, as in The gang concentrated on sticking up liquor stores and gas stations . This usage, dating from the mid-1800s, gave rise to the colloquial phrase, stick 'em up , a robber's order to a victim to raise his or her hands above the head. [1930s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Police said the suspect originally told of being injured in a car accident, but officers soon realized the injuries occurred in the shootout during the attempted stick-up.
From Washington Times
The construction worker was on his way to his job site on Howard University’s campus when the deadly stick-up took place.
From Washington Times
"My behavior was erratic, problematic. I didn't do well with authority and structured environments. I robbed and stole. I became a car thief, a stick-up kid. That's how I ate."
From Salon
But he continued working as a "stick-up kid" who robbed drug dealers and members in rival gangs.
From Salon
The 15-year-old who shot Washington Commanders player Brian Robinson Jr. during a stick-up last summer also pleaded guilty to killing another teen in an unrelated shooting in October.
From Washington Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
