I. stiff 1 S3 /stɪf/ BrE AmE adjective ( comparative stiffer , superlative stiffest )
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ stiffness , ↑ stiff ; adverb : ↑ stiff , ↑ stiffly ; verb : ↑ stiffen ; adjective : ↑ stiff ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: stif ]
1 . BODY if someone or a part of their body is stiff, their muscles hurt and it is difficult for them to move
stiff from doing something
Her legs were stiff from kneeling.
stiff with
Her fingers were stiff with cold.
stiff neck/back/joint etc
Alastair woke with a stiff neck.
I never felt stiff after training until I was in my thirties.
The next morning I was as stiff as a board (=very stiff) .
2 . MATERIAL/SUBSTANCE firm, hard, or difficult to bend:
a shirt with a stiff collar
3 . MIXTURE a stiff mixture is thick and almost solid, so that it is not easy to mix:
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
a stiff dough
4 . DIFFICULT difficult to do or deal with:
a stiff test
stiff competition/opposition
Graduates face stiff competition in getting jobs.
5 . SEVERE a stiff punishment is great or severe
stiff sentence/penalty/fine
calls for stiffer penalties for rapists
6 . DOOR/DRAWER ETC British English difficult to move, turn, or open:
Pull hard – that drawer’s very stiff.
7 . UNFRIENDLY if someone’s behaviour is stiff, they behave in a very formal or unfriendly way:
Their goodbyes were stiff and formal.
Parsons gave a stiff performance in the main role.
8 . PRICE a stiff price etc is high, especially higher than the price etc of similar things:
a stiff tax on cigarettes
9 . stiff wind/breeze a fairly strong wind etc
10 . stiff drink/whisky etc a very strong alcoholic drink
11 . stiff upper lip the ability to stay calm and not show your feelings in a difficult or upsetting situation:
Men were taught to keep a stiff upper lip.
—stiffly adverb
—stiffness noun [uncountable]
II. stiff 2 BrE AmE adverb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ stiffness , ↑ stiff ; adverb : ↑ stiff , ↑ stiffly ; verb : ↑ stiffen ; adjective : ↑ stiff ]
1 . bored/scared/worried stiff informal extremely bored, frightened, or worried:
As a child, I was scared stiff of going down to the cellar.
2 . frozen stiff
a) extremely cold:
Goodness, your hands are frozen stiff!
b) cloth that is frozen stiff is hard because the water in it has frozen
III. stiff 3 BrE AmE noun [countable] informal
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ stiffness , ↑ stiff ; adverb : ↑ stiff , ↑ stiffly ; verb : ↑ stiffen ; adjective : ↑ stiff ]
1 . the body of a dead person
2 . working stiff American English an ordinary person who works to earn enough money to live
3 . someone who you think is old-fashioned and too formal:
His business tactics outraged the stiffs of the UK establishment.
IV. stiff 4 BrE AmE verb informal
1 . [transitive] American English to cheat someone by not paying them, especially by not leaving a ↑ tip in a restaurant:
I can’t believe that couple stiffed me!
2 . [intransitive] if a new product, film, show etc stiffs, it does not sell well or fails completely SYN bomb :
They had a hit in the 1990s, but their subsequent releases stiffed.