sticker

American  

[stik-er] / ˈstɪk ər /

noun

• stickers
  plural

1. a person or thing that sticks.

2. an adhesive label.

3. Informal. sticker price.

4. something, as a problem or riddle, that puzzles or nonpluses one.

5. Slang. a knife, especially one used as a weapon by a criminal.

6. a worker who kills animals in a slaughterhouse by piercing the jugular vein with a pointed instrument.

7. a bur, thorn, or the like.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the sticker price of an automobile.

   Customers are experiencing sticker shock at the high price of new cars.

verb (used with object)

1. to place a sticker on.

sticker British  

/ ˈstɪkə /

noun

1. an adhesive label, poster, or paper

2. a person or thing that sticks

3. a persevering or industrious person

4. something prickly, such as a thorn, that clings to one's clothing, etc

5. informal something that perplexes

6. informal a knife used for stabbing or piercing

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• stickers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sticker

First recorded in 1575–85; stick ² + -er ¹

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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

See Examples For:

sticker stickers

Here are some common last-minute election-day hiccups and how to navigate them so you can earn your “I voted” sticker on Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

When setting a budget, automotive experts say buyers should factor in some hidden costs of EV ownership that aren’t included in the sticker price.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

Besides, nobody ever said, nor ever put on a campaign sticker, “The establishment? It’s cool!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

So while sticker prices are rising less quickly than they once did, they still register to many Americans as unacceptably high.

From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026

While he was waiting for someone to answer the bell, he read the faded sticker on the crystal of the door, “A slip of the lip can sink a ship.”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

In the 1970s I remember a junior-high science teacher who was a fanatic for “zero population growth,” or ZPG, as her bumper stickers proclaimed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

The postboxes for each household bear stickers put there after the attacks three years ago: red indicates those killed, and black those taken hostage.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Earlier this week, Anthropic hosted a limited giveaway of “Clawd” plushies and stickers — a reference to the pixelated crab logo featured in the Claude Code terminal tool.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

A Swedish designer, Mateusz Pozar, launched a "Ban Ray" site earlier this year, providing signs to ban smart glasses from venues and selling stickers.

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

As the earthquake calmed down, I peeled off the stickers and tore them to shreds under the table.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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Related Words

• amount
• bill
• cost
• demand
• discount
• estimate
• expenditure
• expense
• fare
• fee
• figure
• output
• pay
• payment
• premium
• rate
• return
• tariff
• valuation
• worth

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