stuck

American  

[stuhk] / stʌk /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of stick.

---

idioms

1. stuck on, infatuated with.

   He met her only once and is already stuck on her.

stuck British  

/ stʌk /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of stick 2

---

adjective

1. informal baffled or nonplussed

2. slang (foll by on) keen (on) or infatuated (with)

3. informal

   1. to perform (a task) with determination

   2. to attack (a person) verbally or physically

Other Word Forms

• self-stuck
  adjective

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

See Examples For:

stuck

She had missed her connecting flight to Ibiza and was stuck in Madrid.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Those killed included a man in his 60s or 70s found floating in a flooded road and a 66-year-old woman stuck in her submerged car, the Chiba Prefecture Disaster Management Office said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Through the settlements, Houck said she hoped Charter would address a disparity in which low-income residents are often stuck with bigger phone and internet bills than residents in more affluent areas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

While Guardiola had principles he stuck to throughout his career, he did not stick to one system.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

In Duane’s case, he was stuck between a blizzard and a dragon monster.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el