stiff

American  

[stif] / stɪf /

adjective

stiffer, stiffest

1. rigid or firm; difficult or impossible to bend or flex.

   a stiff collar.

   Synonyms:

   unyielding, unbending

2. not moving or working easily.

   The motor was a little stiff from the cold weather.

3. (of a person or animal) not supple; moving with difficulty, as from cold, age, exhaustion, or injury.

4. strong; forceful; powerful: The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.

   stiff winds;

   The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.

5. strong or potent to the taste or system, as a beverage or medicine.

   He was cold and wanted a good stiff drink.

6. resolute; firm in purpose; unyielding; stubborn.

   Synonyms:

   unrelenting, pertinacious, obstinate, resolved

7. stubbornly continued.

   a stiff battle.

8. firm against any tendency to decrease, as stock-market prices.

9. rigidly formal; cold and unfriendly, as people, manners, or proceedings.

   Synonyms:

   prim, constrained, reserved

10. lacking ease and grace; awkward.

    a stiff style of writing.

    Synonyms:

    inelegant, graceless

11. excessively regular or formal, as a design; not graceful in form or arrangement.

12. laborious or difficult, as a task.

13. severe or harsh, as a penalty or demand.

14. excessive; unusually high or great.

    $50 is pretty stiff to pay for that.

15. firm from tension; taut.

    to keep a stiff rein.

16. relatively firm in consistency, as semisolid matter; thick.

    a stiff jelly;

    a stiff batter.

17. dense or compact; not friable.

    stiff soil.

18. Nautical. (of a vessel) having a high resistance to rolling; stable (crank ).

19. Scot. and North England. sturdy, stout, or strongly built.

20. Australian Slang. out of luck; unfortunate.

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noun

1. Slang.

   1. a dead body; corpse.

   2. a formal or priggish person.

   3. a poor tipper; tightwad.

   4. a drunk.

2. Slang.

   1. a fellow.

      lucky stiff; poor stiff.

   2. a tramp; hobo.

   3. a laborer.

3. Slang.

   1. a forged check.

   2. a promissory note or bill of exchange.

   3. a letter or note, especially if secret or smuggled.

4. Slang. a contestant, especially a racehorse, sure to lose.

adverb

1. in or to a firm or rigid state.

   The wet shirt was frozen stiff.

2. completely, intensely, or extremely: We're scared stiff.

   I'm bored stiff by these lectures.

   We're scared stiff.

verb (used with object)

1. Slang. to fail or refuse to tip (a waiter, porter, etc.).

2. Slang. to cheat; swindle; do out of.

   The company stiffed me out of a week's pay.

stiff British  

/ stɪf /

adjective

1. not easily bent; rigid; inflexible

2. not working or moving easily or smoothly

   a stiff handle

3. difficult to accept in its severity or harshness

   a stiff punishment

4. moving with pain or difficulty; not supple

   a stiff neck

5. difficult; arduous

   a stiff climb

6. unrelaxed or awkward; formal

7. firmer than liquid in consistency; thick or viscous

8. powerful; strong

   a stiff breeze

   a stiff drink

9. excessively high

   a stiff price

10. nautical (of a sailing vessel) relatively resistant to heeling or rolling Compare tender 1

11. lacking grace or attractiveness

12. stubborn or stubbornly maintained

    a stiff fight

13. obsolete tightly stretched; taut

14. slang unlucky

15. slang intoxicated

16. See lip

17. informal amply provided with

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noun

1. slang a corpse

2. slang anything thought to be a loser or a failure; flop

adverb

1. completely or utterly

   bored stiff

   frozen stiff

verb

1. slang (intr) to fail

   the film stiffed

2. slang (tr) to cheat or swindle

3. slang (tr) to kill

stiff Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing stiff

• bore to death (stiff)
• keep a stiff upper lip
• scare out of one's wits (stiff)

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Related Words

See firm ¹.

Other Word Forms

• overstiff adjective
• overstiffly adverb
• semistiff adjective
• semistiffly adverb
• stiffish adjective
• stiffly adverb
• stiffness noun
• unstiff adjective
• unstiffly adverb

Etymology

Origin of stiff

First recorded before 1000; Middle English stif, stijf, Old English stīf; cognate with German steif, Old Norse stífr; akin to Latin stīpāre “to crowd, press” ( steeve ¹ ( def. ), stifle ¹ )

Example Sentences

At the same time, excess fibrous tissue accumulated within the heart, making the muscle stiffer and less able to pump blood efficiently.

From Science Daily

Faced with some stiff competition, one savvy float-building team at this year’s Rose Parade still managed to reel in a Guinness World Record title by setting its sights on something decidedly fishier.

From Los Angeles Times

I stood up to shake off the pain and tweaked my right Achilles tendon, so I headed for the medicine cabinet, bent over like an ape because of a stiff back.

From Los Angeles Times

Goldman Sachs said late last month that the company faces a challenging setup coming into 2026, largely due to stiff competition.

From Barron's

The reaction could herald a stiffer defence of democracy in West Africa.

From BBC

Related Words

• brisk
• excessive
• extreme
• hard
• harsh
• heavy
• rigorous
• sharp
• steep
• strict
• stringent
• strong
• vigorous