unstick
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
unsticksimple
-
unstickssimple
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have unstuckperfect
-
has unstuckperfect
-
am unstickingprogressive
-
are unstickingprogressive
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is unstickingprogressive
-
have been unstickingperfect progressive
-
has been unstickingperfect progressive
Past
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unstucksimple
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had unstuckperfect
-
was unstickingprogressive
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were unstickingprogressive
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had been unstickingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unstick
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:
“The fans, equally, are basically stuck sometimes, and I guess it's our job to subtly, not forcefully, unstick them,” he said.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2025
"We - our team and the United States administration - came to Beijing in order to unstick what has been stuck since almost last August," Kerry told reporters late on Wednesday.
From Reuters ● Jul. 19, 2023
“She was stuck and needed a lawyer to unstick the situation,” Hruska said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 2023
Meanwhile, executives realize that if they don’t persuade their employees to come back now, with pandemic restrictions eased in most areas, the new norms of flexible work will be hard to unstick.
From New York Times ● Aug. 28, 2022
Their touch, combined with a touch from me and/or Sheed, can unstick a person, permanently freeing them from their frozen state.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
He unsticks the phone from his ear and stretches it out to me.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
He insisted not after his fourth-round win over Jesper de Jong, but if he comes unstuck against the next generation, there is no question he has blown a golden chance.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
While Gay's recent century came against James Anderson's Lancashire, he has previously come unstuck against Test-level bowlers.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
The pace at which the U.S. and Israel can get the Strait of Hormuz unstuck will determine just how long these problems last.
From Barron's ● Mar. 19, 2026
But many family-run businesses come unstuck because they focus on short-term moneymaking, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Petey, somehow unstuck and frowny as usual, said, “Oh heck. More guests, and me with no snacks. Can this day get any worse?”
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
By curling and uncurling their toes, geckos can alternate between sticking and unsticking from a surface, and thus easily move across it.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
As we look toward unsticking calcified systems, we may find hope from a practice rarely celebrated by technological innovators: regulation.
From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2015
But unsticking systems is not just a technological challenge.
From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2015
Thankfully, there are ways to manage this; unsticking that clog and getting everything flowing freely again.
From Forbes ● Sep. 6, 2014
"You must go with them," Rémy says, unsticking my feet.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
