stick out
Britishverb
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to project or cause to project
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informal (tr) to endure (something disagreeable) (esp in the phrase stick it out )
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informal to be extremely obvious
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(intr) to insist on (a demand), refusing to yield until it is met
the unions stuck out for a ten per cent wage rise
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Also, stick out a mile or like a sore thumb . Be very prominent or conspicuous, as in Dad's funny hat made him stick out in the crowd , or That purple house sticks out a mile , or John's lie sticks out like a sore thumb . The first term dates from the mid-1500s, the variants from the first half of the 1900s. The variant using thumb alludes to the propensity for holding an injured thumb stiffly, making it stand out (and thereby risking further injury).
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Continue doing something, endure something, as in I know you don't like it but you have to stick out the job for another month . [Late 1600s] A variant is stick it out , as in His new play's boring, but since he's my cousin we'd better stick it out . [Late 1800s] Also see stick it , def. 1.
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.
"It will stick out like a big sore thumb," he said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
The head and raised arms of a doll stick out of the left side of the hoodie’s kangaroo pocket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
Most top directors can’t act to save their lives, which is why they tend to appear as themselves and stick out like splinters.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025
Another couple of factors stick out, looping us back to those Mourinho comparisons.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2025
Nan came up with Relocation Rule Number 14: Blend in with the locals or stick out with the yokels.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
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.
