I. ˈstik noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English stikke, stik, from Old English sticca; akin to Middle Low German stikke stick, Old High German stehho, stecko, Old Norse stik, stika stick, stake, Old English stician to stick — more at stick V
1. : a woody piece or part of a tree or shrub: as
a.
(1) : a shoot, twig, or slender branch broken or cut off especially when dry or dead
(2) : bud stick
b. : a cut or broken branch or a piece of chopped wood used as or suitable for fuel — usually used in plural
were able to find enough dry sticks to start a campfire
cut a few sticks of kindling
c. : a stem or branch of any size cut or gathered for use especially as construction material (as timbers, stakes, staves) or in manufacturing
interwoven willow sticks
cane sticks for oboes — Time
in the postwar world sticks of timber will be shot full of strengthening plastic — Science News Letter
sometimes : log
the big sticks that housed early Americans and carried the canvas on tall Yankee clipper ships — Monsanto Magazine
started with such a big stick I couldn't even move one end of it — G.W.Brace
2. : a long and relatively slender piece of wood in its natural form or shaped with tools and of a size that can be easily handled : rod , staff , wand
cut himself a hiking stick
the stick of a skyrocket
an apple on a stick
manicure sticks of orangewood
a burnt stick of a match
as
a.
(1) : a wooden club or staff used as a weapon
one hand resting on the white stick in his belt — Kay Boyle
cop in full kit, his stick ready in his hand — R.O.Bowen
— compare nightstick
(2) : something suitable for use as a means of compulsion
programs carried on today are nowhere near large enough to be effective either as sticks or carrots — S.P.Hayes b.1910
the stick — the powerful instrumentalities of institutionalized violence — Julian Towster
(3) : a beating with or as if with a stick
got a fair share of the stick — Brian James
b.
(1) : drumstick
(2) sticks plural : drummer
c. : walking stick
tossed his hat and stick on the table — Waldo Frank
iron-pointed ferrule that distinguishes continental sticks — Hilton Brown
d. : any of various implements (as a baseball bat, billiard cue, golf club) used for striking or propelling an object in a game: as
(1) : hocket stick
all sticks shall be made of wood — Official Ice Hockey Guide
(2) : crosse
(3) sticks plural : the staves thrown at the target figure in Aunt Sally ; also : the game of Aunt Sally
(4) : an implement used by a croupier or stickman to retrieve thrown dice
e.
(1) : a baton symbolizing an office or dignity ; also : a person bearing or entitled to bear such a baton — compare gold stick , silver stick
(2) : a musical conductor's baton
though no professional conductor, handles the stick astonishingly well — New York Times
f. : one of the pieces of wood resembling laths that are used to suspend leaves and stalks of tobacco in curing barns and to suspend hands of tobacco in drying machines
3. : a piece, part, or bit of the total materials of which sometimes (as a building) is constructed or composed
house stood facing her, not a stick of it changed — Allen Tate
nothing there … was a windbreak tree, windmill, stick of fence — C.T.Jackson
had grown up in the town and knew every stick and stone of it
4. : a piece of wood used as a tally by cutting notches in it or as a counter or token
5. : any of various implements and utensils shaped like a stick or having a possible origin in a stick: as
a. : candlestick
b. : a violin bow : fiddlestick
c.
(1) : composing stick
(2) : stickful
(3) : set type occupying two inches of one column especially of a newspaper ; also : copy for this amount of type
(4) : the receiving galley of a slugcasting machine
d. sticks plural : a set of thin narrow rods or slats (as of wood, bone, ivory) on which the folding surface of a fan is mounted
e. slang : pistol
f.
(1) : chanter 3
(2) : fife
(3) : flute
g.
(1) : control stick
(2) : a gearshift lever of an automobile
h. : fountain pen
6. : something prepared (as by cutting, molding, rolling) in a relatively long and slender often cylindrical form (as for convenience in handling, ease of application or consumption)
cinnamon sticks
stick of candy
stick of sealing wax
stick of dynamite
shaving stick
lipsticks and other cosmetic and medicated sticks
cucumber sticks
pound of butter in sticks
specifically : a marihuana cigarette : reefer
7.
a. : a quantity of eels consisting usually of 25 eels
b. : a quantity of fish consisting of 25 pounds
8.
a. : person — used with a qualifying adjective
queer stick
a decent old stick — Robert Graves
they'd only been kidding you … they were good sticks — David Ballantyne
b. : a dull, inert, stiff, or spiritless person : one that lacks vigor, animation, or geniality
this poor, dim stick — Jean Stafford
was also something of a stick … rarely spoke to anyone who was not of her own social station — Aubrey Menen
such a thing as carrying niceness too far — a girl could end by being a stick — Hamilton Basso
is a regular stick on the stage — Emily Eden
c. : shill ; especially : one working in a carnival
9.
a. : a tree trunk or sometimes a tree suitable for timber
next task is to get the big sticks out of the woods — D.C.Peattie
a clear stick of ninety feet was nothing unusual among these giants — G.W.Johnson
b. : a wood of timber trees
c. sticks plural
(1) : wooded lands : rural districts : backcountry — used with the
bringing in hordes of Indians from the sticks — Guatemala News
back in the sticks, far from anything — Bill Wolf
(2) : sections of a country remote from or held to be little touched by centers of civilization — used with the ; compare backwoods , provinces
in case you're from the sticks, I'll explain it to you — Willard Temple
a musical comedy during its trial run in the sticks — J.M.Conly
(3) : bush leagues — used with the
sent him back to the sticks
10.
a. : an edible plant stem or stalk
celery sticks
stewed a few sticks of rhubarb
b. : the dry withered stem of a stiffish plant
watering the dry sticks of hollyhock — Mari Sandoz
11.
a. : mast
do my sailing with a rag and stick — H.A.Calahan
our eyes on the bobbing, varnished stick of the dinghy — Vincent McHugh
b. : yard
12. : a portion of alcoholic liquor (as brandy, rum) in a nonalcoholic drink
a cup of tea with a stick in it
13. : a single piece or article especially of furniture
upholstered almost every stick of furniture herself — E.L.Howe
some dusty sticks of Victorian furniture — Margery Allingham
series of business failures that left him with hardly a stick to his name
14. : leg — usually used in plural
fever left him weak on his sticks
15. : something constructed of sticks: as
a. : a cricket stump — usually used in plural
b.
(1) : a racing or steeplechase hurdle
(2) : any wooden obstacle (as a fence, gate, stile) to be hurdled (as in hunting) : timber 4a
c. : a fireman's ladder
16. sticks plural : a violation of the rules of field hockey by raising the stick above the shoulders at either the beginning or end of a stroke
17.
a. : a number of bombs arranged for release or released one after another in quick succession from a bombing plane especially in a spaced series across a target
jettisoning its stick of bombs — J.W.Bellah
dropped a few sticks off target — Jack Alexander
— compare salvo
b. : a group of parachutists who jump or are assigned to jump one after another in quick succession
our stick was briefed again on various subjects — T.B.Bruff
dropping two sticks of paratroopers simultaneously — J.G.Cozzens
•
- hold a stick to
- short end of the stick
- to sticks
- wrong end of the stick
[s]stick.jpg[/s] [
stick 2d: a lacrosse, b ice hockey, c field hockey
]
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to arrange (lumber) in stacks especially with stickers
2. : to provide a stick as a support for (as a plant, a vine)
3. : to set (type) in a composing stick : compose
could … rustle news, solicit ads, stick type, make up forms, put the paper to bed — S.H.Adams
III. adjective
1. : resembling a stick in shape : prepared or made in the form of a stick
stick cinnamon
a stick deodorant
2. : made of or with sticks
a stick bridge
stick chimney
IV. adverb
: altogether , completely
stick blind
stick stark staring mad
V. verb
( stuck ˈstək ; stuck ; sticking ; sticks )
Etymology: Middle English stikken, stiken, from Old English stician; akin to Old Saxon stekan to stick fast, Old High German stehhan to sting, prick, sticken to sting, prick, stecchen to stick, insert, Old Norse steikja to roast, Latin in stigare to urge on, incite, instigate, Greek sitzein to tattoo, Sanskrit tejate it is sharp; basic meaning: sharp
transitive verb
1.
a. : to pierce with something pointed: as
(1) : to pierce with a pointed weapon : wound by a thrust of a pointed instrument : stab
(2) chiefly dialect : to pierce with a horn or tusk : gore
(3) : to make a hole in with a pointed instrument : puncture
man who could stick a cow for clover bloat — Time
b. : to kill by piercing with a pointed instrument ; especially : to kill (as a pig in butchering) by pressing a knife into the throat
c. : to strike (as fish) or hunt (as wild boar) with a spear
stick salmon
had stuck pigs in India
2. : to cause (as a pointed instrument) to penetrate : push or thrust so as to pierce or as if to pierce — used with in or into or with through
died from a knife stuck in his back
stuck a needle in her finger
too thick to stick a pin through it
accidentally stuck his finger in his eye
stuck his umbrella in my ribs
test by sticking a fork into the crust
3.
a. : to fix, fasten, or secure in position by thrusting or pushing in especially at a pointed or narrow end
stick pins in a pincushion
stick a marker in the ground
stick candles in a birthday cake
stuck a flower in his buttonhole
stuck his pipe between his teeth
a flower stuck behind his ear — Judson Philips
had his pistol stuck in his belt
stuck a feather in his hatband
b.
(1) : to fix on a point or a pointed implement : impale
an apple on a fork
kills a fowl, sticks it and the banana blossom on a spit — J.G.Frazer
(2) : to mount (as an insect specimen) by transfixing with a pin
c. : to push, shove, thrust, or poke (as a part of the body) in a specified direction or into a specified place or position
suddenly stuck his arm out
stuck his hands behind him
sitting with his feet stuck out into the aisle
stuck his finger down his collar
stuck his chin out pugnaciously
an unpleasant way of sticking his nose up in the air
sticks out his chest and struts away
stick out your tongue and say “ah”
prices jump … the minute you stick your head inside the door — T.H.Fielding
soldier foolish enough to stick his head over the rock — Burtt Evans
stuck his face into mine
4. : to put or set in a specified place or position
stick the letter under the door
stick a book back on its shelf
stick a cake in the oven
stick the washing in the machine
stick their prepositions in front of the verbs — John Hilton
stuck me in the shore patrol brig — R.O.Bowen
stuck the prettiest girls in the front row
stuck his hat on his head and left
a cottage stuck down among a swarm of other cottages — Morley Callaghan
stuck a few potted plants around the room
5.
a. : to set or furnish with things fixed in or fastened on by or as if by piercing a surface
stick a pincushion full of pins
an orange stuck with cloves
top of the wall had been stuck full of broken glass
wore a coat stuck with badges
b. : to set or furnish with objects placed about
a brisk trade in pretty things; buildings are stuck all over with them — Clive Bell
windows stuck full of plants and knicknacks on glass shelves
6. : to attach by or as if by causing to adhere to a surface (as with pins or an adhesive)
stick a stamp on a letter
stick down the flap of an envelope
stick a poster on the wall
stick up a notice on the bulletin board
stick a handle on a teapot with glue
7.
a. : to compel to pay (as by beating in a game or gamble or by trickery or imposition)
expert at sticking his friends for drinks at liar's dice
stick his host for the cost of several long-distance calls
b.
(1) : charge
what do they stick you for a meal
(2) : overcharge : require to pay or spend exorbitantly
everybody sticks the dogface — James Jones
fixed the prices and … stuck the rich to favor the poor — Marcus Duffield
8. : to run or plane (moldings) in a machine in contradistinction to working by hand
9.
a. : to bring to a halt : prevent the movement or action of : keep from proceeding or going back
could not move a yard among people without getting stuck — James Cameron
prevent foreign matter from sticking valve — Air Tools
had been stuck there for a week by bad weather
here he was, stuck in a shore job — Nevil Shute
voice is stuck somewhere below his larynx — H.A.Overstreet
got stuck halfway up the hill
b. : to cause to be at a loss : baffle , nonplus , puzzle , stump
stuck him with the first question they asked
you can't stick him about his native land — T.H.Fielding
getting stuck for a word to rhyme with moon — R.K.Leavitt
was stuck for a technique that would deal with them adequately — New Yorker
10.
a. : to get the better of especially fraudulently : cheat , defraud
had been stuck several times in the past year by phony antique dealers
b. : to saddle with something disadvantageous or disagreeable — usually used with with
it is your car and you are stuck with it — Gregor Felsen
had been stuck with the job of washing the dishes
think you're going to stick me with a bum rap like that — Courtney McClendon
went back on the road again, stuck with a losing show — F.B.Gipson
stuck with the most complex monetary system left on earth — Richard Joseph
things like debt and family illness can stick you — Time
11. chiefly Britain : bear , endure , stand , tolerate : put up with
couldn't stick that pace all day — Adrian Bell
can't stick this darned town any longer — Christopher Isherwood
couldn't stick life in some stuffy little house — T.H.Raddall
none of the girls could stick him — Edith C. Rivett
— often used with it
hoped she would try to stick it a little longer — F.M.Ford
don't known how I'm going to stick it till Tuesday — Margaret Kennedy
were going out to see if we could stick it — A.R.Williams
intransitive verb
1. : to hold to or be held in something tightly or firmly by or as if by being embedded or attached by adhesion:
a. : to become or remain fixed in place by means of a pointed end : have the point piercing or held fast in something
was found with a knife sticking in his heart
thorn stuck in his finger and broke off
javelin stuck in the ground where it fell
arrow stuck in the target
b. : to become fixed or fast by or as if by entangling or miring typically after being impelled into a thickly viscous, gluey, or tacky mass
boat stuck in the sand
car stuck in the mud
c. : to become attached by or as if by gluing or plastering
thin silk robe which stuck to his sweating barrellike torso — T.B.Costain
glue had stuck to his fingers
this stamp won't stick
several pages had stuck together
keep the biscuits from sticking to the pan
2.
a. : to reamin in a place, situation, or environment : continue to stay often as though held firmly, made stationary, or attached
stuck on the farm while his brothers traveled
decided to stick where he was
b. : to remain attached or fixed over a period of time as though imbedded in or holding to with tenacious strength or adhesive power
two sentences stick in my mind — Kenneth Roberts
boyhood nickname had stuck
anyone so beyond suspicion that no slander can stick to him — Elmer Davis
childhood fears that had stuck with him
c. : to remain effective : continue or endure especially in the face of opposition or difficulty : have sufficient lasting power and effect to resist efforts to evade, nullify, or make inoperative
many … reorganizations in the past have failed to stick — New Republic
— used chiefly in the phrase make stick
making the requirements stick — New Republic
fifteen years before an arrest could be made to stick — New York Times
d. chiefly Britain : to put up with existing conditions or circumstances
e. : to refuse to declare in a card game
3. : to hold to closely, persistently, or steadfastly : stay with or near: as
a. : to adhere tenaciously without deviation, digression, interruption, or wavering : persevere — usually used with to
his sermons … stick too closely to the point to be entertaining — T.S.Eliot
the faculty should stick to education and abjure finance — R.M.Lovett
stick to business
would stick to his gladiatorial work for the joy and thrill of it — C.E.Montague
or with at
sticks at his job
sticks persistently at his studies
b. : to hold or cling (as to a position) with lasting fortitude and resolution despite attack, danger, or the weight of onerous burdens — usually used with to
call upon every American to stick to his post until the last battle is won — H.S.Truman
stuck to his ship till it sank
stick to their boards no matter what happens around them — Margaret Biddle
c. : to remain (as through a series of developments often adverse, trying, or dire) resolute or unshaken in loyalty, friendship, or alliance — usually used with by or to
is full of good men … they'll help you and stick by you — Sherwood Anderson
a man who stuck to his friends
d. : to adhere with strick fidelity, sure reliability, and lack of modification or relaxation induced by temptation, convenience, or opposition — usually used with to
stick to a contract
translation stuck closely to the original
always stuck to his word
sometimes with by
stuck by his first account
e. : to keep close to in a quest, chase, vying, or competition matching or countering opposed efforts — usually used with with or to
was stronger than his opponent but the latter stuck with him and earned a draw
managed to stick to the leader's heels for two laps
4. : to become fixed in position or hindered in progress or operation by reason of some obstacle or obstruction : become blocked or wedged : jam , lodge
handle had stuck
something had stuck in the pipe
food stuck in his throat
switch had a tendency to stick
desk drawer always stuck
5.
a. : to be reluctant or unwilling : be deterred (as by scruples) : balk , hesitate , scruple , stop — usually used with at
was in a hole and would stick at little to get out of it — John Buchan
not one who would stick at calling her at midnight — Aurelia Levi
with someone else to do the thinking for him he would stick at nothing — F.W.Crofts
b. : to be in difficulty : become baffled or nonplussed : boggle — usually used with at
stick at grammar
what we stick at in most religious poetry is not the beliefs but the emotions — J.P.Bishop
c. : to be unable to proceed (as in a performance, a speech)
memory failed him at the same place he had stuck the first time
stuck in the middle of the verse
6. : project , protrude
had a book sticking from his pocket
spot the house by the air conditioner sticking through the window
aerial sticks up above the chimney
nose of the car was sticking out of the garage
wreck of the tiny store sticking up in the ruins — C.G.D.Roberts
tail unit sticking high up into the air — London Calling
Synonyms: see adhere , demur
•
- stick in one's craw
- stick in one's throat
- stick it on
- stick one's neck out
- stick together
- stick to one's fingers
- stick to one's guns
- stick to one's knitting
- stick to one's last
- stick to one's ribs
- stuck on
VI. noun
( -s )
1. : a thrust with a pointed instrument : stab
2.
a. : a temporary stoppage : delay , stop
seemed to be at a stick
b. : something causing such a stoppage : impediment , obstacle
made no stick at all
3. : the quality or power of adhering or causing to adhere : adhesive tendency
4. : a sticky substance ; specifically : the thick liquor obtained by evaporation of the liquid from tankage in rendering fats or tankage and mixed with garbage or solid residue from tankage for use as fertilizer or animal feed
VII. transitive verb
1. : to execute (a shot) successfully in basketball
2. : to execute (a landing) flawlessly in gymnastics
•
- stick it to