sticker
Americannoun
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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:
A cleaning tip to liberate your home from sticker tyranny: If you have a kiddo in your life, you know that stickers can magically appear on just about every surface within their arm’s reach.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
“It says GM, the sticker for GM, that’s another proof that this is the origin.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
They will determine which ones are safe to live in -- marked with a green sticker -- those that need repairs, marked yellow, and those that are dangerous and must be evacuated -- red.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
I’ve seen it on many products, in many different presentations — pink-glitter bubble letters on a sticker, loopy black cursive on a tote bag, industrial embroidery on a hat.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
She refused to let her dad fix them, just like with the bumper sticker.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
A cleaning tip to liberate your home from sticker tyranny: If you have a kiddo in your life, you know that stickers can magically appear on just about every surface within their arm’s reach.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
The 2026 album also comes with the added challenge of collecting 12 stickers that are only available on the inside label of promotional bottles of Coca Cola.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
We are arranging a swap of 50 stickers for my son's 2026 Panini World Cup album.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
The bartenders and servers, some dressed in light-up rave gear, were trying to ratchet up excitement by passing around stickers.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
It’s got stickers on it that are half peeled off, but it’s cute, with a set of matching car bedspreads on it.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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.
