walking stick
Americannoun
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a stick held in the hand and used to help support oneself while walking.
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Also called stick insect. Also walkingstick any of several insects of the family Phasmidae, having a long, slender, twiglike body.
noun
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a stick or cane carried in the hand to assist walking
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the usual US name for stick insect
Etymology
Origin of walking stick
First recorded in 1570–80
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.
His father, he said, had been out for a walk and was using a curtain rod as a walking stick.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
Around 2016, he lost the ability to play golf, a longtime passion, and relied on a walking stick.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
Sharon, 46, now uses a walking stick and, given the physical demands of her job, has been unable to return to work after suffering serious orthopaedic and psychological trauma.
From BBC • May 8, 2025
Striding forward, his sturdy right hand clutches a knobby wooden walking stick, cut from a tree branch and stripped.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2025
In a characteristically Franklinesque gesture, he bequeathed to Washington his crab-tree walking stick, presumably to assist the general in his stroll toward immortality.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
