stuck
Americanverb
idioms
verb
adjective
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informal baffled or nonplussed
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slang (foll by on) keen (on) or infatuated (with)
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informal
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to perform (a task) with determination
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to attack (a person) verbally or physically
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Other Word Forms
Explanation
Stuck describes something that's frozen or fixed in one place and can't be moved. If your foot gets stuck in the mud, it means you can't get your foot out of its messy trap. The lid of a jar can be stuck, and your car can get stuck in traffic; either way, the thing that's stuck isn't going anywhere. You can also use stuck when you can't figure out what to do: you can be stuck on an especially hard math problem or feel stuck in a complicated relationship. The verb stick comes from the Old English stician, pierce or remain fastened.
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.
Where Unnamed often makes unexpected turns, Transit has stuck close to its original mission: to translate a handful of books a year, often works of translation themselves, with a certain aesthetic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Though Root did at least allow Tongue three slips and two leg slips for his hat-trick ball after tea, he stuck with three for the most part here and barely ventured into the funky.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
If you can’t fit on the one waiting in the docking area when you deplane, you’re stuck lingering for ages—a half hour or more, in some cases—until the next one arrives.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Thousands of people displaced by a powerful earthquake in eastern Indonesia awaited much-needed aid on Monday as they camped out at schools, police stations and government offices, with many stuck outside.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Mutti stuck always to the asthma story Karli had first made up in front of the policeman that day.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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.
