stick-up
Britishnoun
verb
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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.
Williams’ “stick-up boy” character Omar Little on “The Wire” — a fictionalized look at the underpinnings of Baltimore that ended in 2008 but remains popular in streaming — was based on a real-life figure.
From Seattle Times
Freddie Mercury, a young pit bull mix — brown, with pretty chestnut eyes and big, stick-up ears — was adopted from the Philly Bully Team as a happy, friendly puppy.
From Seattle Times
Omar was based on stick-up men Simon and Burns had encountered in real life, but Williams made the character his own.
From Washington Post
Little, a “stick-up boy” based on real figures from Baltimore, was probably the most beloved character among the devoted fans of “The Wire,” the HBO show that ran from 2002 to 2008 and is re-watched constantly in streaming.
From Seattle Times
And yet the transition to bank robbery is played for laughs, Cherry and his always-high, bumbling crew play at being stick-up men.
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.
