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 (opposed to 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” ( see steeve ¹ ( def. ), stifle ¹ )

Explanation

Stiff things don’t bend or move easily. Dead bodies and tree branches are often stiff, and your back might feel stiff if you sit for too long. But to stiff the wait staff is to skip the tip. Bad idea. If a doorknob is stiff, it won't turn smoothly, and if the smile on your face is stiff, it’s frozen and unnatural looking. When a person is stiff, they are artificial and unrelaxed — unless they're "scared stiff" or "bored stiff." A regular guy is a working stiff. Another colloquial meaning of stiff is "to underpay, or to cheat.” Also, a stiff drink has a lot of alcohol. A dead body is sometimes called a stiff, but it’s rude.

Example Sentences

The fictional movie he’s making looks stiff, a period epic about Spain’s colonialist withdrawal from the Sahara in the 1930s, which doubles as a metaphor for the father’s destructive absence from his now-adult child’s life.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Expanding overseas energy exports has emerged as a key part of Carney's strategy to reduce Canada's economic reliance on the United States, but plans for a new pipeline are facing stiff resistance over environmental concerns.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

Key details: So-called core wholesale prices rose a lesser but still stiff 0.5% in April.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

In choosing their group to take on the stiff challenge of the Black Caps at Lord's, England will have to make decisions over their opening pair, spinner and pace bowlers.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

It seemed like they were going to have some stiff competition.

From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon

Related Words

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