stick-up

noun

1. slang,  a robbery at gunpoint; hold-up

verb

1. slang,  (tr) to rob, esp at gunpoint

2. informal,  to support or defend

   stick up for oneself

Idioms and Phrases

Project from a surface, as in That little cowlick of his sticks up no matter what you do . [Early 1400s]

Put up a poster or notice, as in Will you stick up this announcement on the bulletin board? [Late 1700s]

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

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.

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The construction worker was on his way to his job site on Howard University’s campus when the deadly stick-up took place.

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"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."

Read more on Salon

But he continued working as a "stick-up kid" who robbed drug dealers and members in rival gangs.

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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.

Read more on Washington Times

Related Words

• bereave 
• break into 
• cheat 
• defraud 
• divest 
• hijack 
• loot 
• lose 
• mug 
• plunder 
• raid 
• ransack 
• strip