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.
“The last one scared me,” Velasquez said as he watched left-fielder Moises Rodriguez stick out his glove running to catch it and start a victory celebration.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
Those that have been left behind stick out like sore hitchhiker’s thumbs, which helps explain recent activist interest.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Unlike traditional handles that stick out on the door surface and can always be grasped by hand, the retractable handle sinks into the door and isn’t graspable in its default position.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 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
It caused me to recall something I’d read once: if ever you’re in a crowded theater and there’s a fire, you should stick out your elbows and raise up your feet.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
