sticker
Americannoun
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stickers
plural
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a person or thing that sticks.
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an adhesive label.
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Informal. sticker price.
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something, as a problem or riddle, that puzzles or nonpluses one.
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Slang. a knife, especially one used as a weapon by a criminal.
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a worker who kills animals in a slaughterhouse by piercing the jugular vein with a pointed instrument.
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a bur, thorn, or the like.
adjective
verb (used with object)
noun
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an adhesive label, poster, or paper
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a person or thing that sticks
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a persevering or industrious person
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something prickly, such as a thorn, that clings to one's clothing, etc
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informal something that perplexes
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informal a knife used for stabbing or piercing
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sticker
Explanation
A sticker is a label or a decoration with a sticky back, so it can be pasted anywhere. If you're a big fan of superheroes, you might cover your notebooks with Wonder Woman stickers. Sticker usually refers to the kitten stickers your brother sticks on his bedroom windows or the adhesive labels that you peel off your banana. Some plants also have stickers (also known as burrs, prickles, or thorns) — the kind that get stuck in your sweater after a walk in the woods. The term sticker price means the listed price for a car or some other item offered for sale.
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.
See Examples For:
Warren Browne, an industry consultant, said car sales would likely fall next year if the tariff increase goes into effect, assuming automakers respond with increases in sticker prices and shipping charges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Not dramatically on sale, in the way of a holiday ham wearing a fluorescent sticker that announces some brief and glorious collapse in the market.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Premium sports franchises have spiked in value so rapidly that sticker shock is nil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
People often get sticker shock when they investigate COBRA.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
“The inspection sticker on your truck here expired a year and a half ago.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
By last week, when Chapman stopped counting, “yes” votes topped 100, beating 72 opposed and a smattering of stickers on the center line for undecided.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Instead they take still images of vehicles, capturing the make, model, color, license plate data and other distinguishing features such as bumper stickers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
It stood outside a brick six-flat, also fittingly painted blue, and decorated with a few stickers: “Protect Native Plants,” a rocket ship from a regional space camp, several iridescent birds.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
Shoppers will also win prizes along the way, such as tote bags, pins, stickers and a free audiobook.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
But the hogs didn’t seem to mind the stickers.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
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.
