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Definition stick

Etymology 1

From Middle English stikke (“stick, rod, twig”), from Old English sticca (“rod, twig”), from Proto-Germanic *stikkô, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Stikke (“stick”), West Flemish stik (“stick”).

Noun

stick (countable and uncountable, plural sticks)

1. An elongated piece of wood or similar material, typically put to some use, for example as a wand or baton.
   1. (sports, generically) A long thin implement used to control a ball or puck in sports like hockey, polo, and lacrosse.
   2. (horse racing) The short whip carried by a jockey.
   3. (boardsports) A board as used in board sports, such as a surfboard, snowboard, or skateboard.
   4. (golf) The pole bearing a small flag that marks the hole.
   5. (US, slang, uncountable) The cue used in billiards, pool, snooker, etc.
      1. The game of pool, or an individual pool game.
2. (sports, uncountable) Ability; specifically:
   1. (golf) The long-range driving ability of a golf club.
   2. (baseball) The potential hitting power of a specific bat.
   3. (baseball) General hitting ability.
   4. (field hockey or ice hockey) The potential accuracy of a hockey stick, implicating also the player using it.
3. (slang, dated) A person or group of people. (Perhaps, in some senses, because people are, broadly speaking, tall and thin, like pieces of wood.)
   1. A thin or wiry person; particularly a flat-chested woman.
   2. (magic) An assistant planted in the audience.
   3. A stiff, stupidly obstinate person.
   4. (military aviation, from joystick) A fighter pilot.
   5. (military, South Africa) A small group of (infantry) soldiers.
4. Encouragement or punishment, or (resulting) vigour or other improved behavior.
   1. A negative stimulus or a punishment. (This sense derives from the metaphor of using a stick, a long piece of wood, to poke or beat a beast of burden to compel it to move forward. Compare carrot.)
   2. (slang, uncountable) Corporal punishment; beatings.
   3. (slang) Vigor; spirit; effort, energy, intensity.
   4. (slang) Vigorous driving of a car; gas.
5. A measure.
   1. (obsolete) An English Imperial unit of length equal to 2 inches.
   2. (archaic, rare) A quantity of eels, usually 25.

Verb

stick (third-person singular simple present sticks, present participle sticking, simple past and past participle sticked)

1. (carpentry) To cut a piece of wood to be the stick member of a cope-and-stick joint.
2. (transitive, printing, slang, dated) To compose; to set, or arrange, in a composing stick.
3. (transitive) To furnish or set with sticks.

Etymology 2

From Middle English stiken (“to stick, pierce, stab, remain embedded, be fastened”), from Old English stician (“to pierce, stab, remain embedded, be fastened”), from Proto-Germanic *stik?n? (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”) (compare also the related Proto-Germanic *stikan?, whence West Frisian stekke, Low German steken, Dutch steken, German stechen; compare also Danish stikke, Swedish sticka), from Proto-Indo-European *stig-, *steyg- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”).

Cognate with the first etymology (same PIE root, different paths through Germanic and Old English), to stitch, and to etiquette, via French étiquette – see there for further discussion.

Noun

stick (uncountable)

1. (motor racing) The traction of tires on the road surface.
2. (fishing) The amount of fishing line resting on the water surface before a cast; line stick.
3. A thrust with a pointed instrument; a stab.

Verb

stick (third-person singular simple present sticks, present participle sticking, simple past and past participle stuck or (archaic) sticked)

1. (intransitive) To become or remain attached; to adhere.
2. (intransitive) To jam; to stop moving.
3. (transitive) To tolerate, to endure, to stick with.
4. (intransitive) To persist.
5. (intransitive) Of snow, to remain frozen on landing.
6. (intransitive) To remain loyal; to remain firm.
7. (dated, intransitive) To hesitate, to be reluctant; to refuse (in negative phrases).
8. (dated, intransitive) To be puzzled (at something), have difficulty understanding.
9. (dated, intransitive) To cause difficulties, scruples, or hesitation.
10. (transitive) To attach with glue or as if by gluing.
11. (transitive) To place, set down (quickly or carelessly).
12. (transitive) To press (something with a sharp point) into something else.
    1. (transitive, now only in dialectal) To stab.
13. (transitive) To fix on a pointed instrument; to impale.
14. (transitive, archaic) To adorn or deck with things fastened on as by piercing.
15. (transitive, gymnastics) To perform (a landing) perfectly.
16. (botany, transitive) To propagate plants by cuttings.
17. (transitive, joinery) To run or plane (mouldings) in a machine, in contradistinction to working them by hand. Such mouldings are said to be stuck.
18. (dated, transitive) To bring to a halt; to stymie; to puzzle.
19. (transitive, slang, dated) To impose upon; to compel to pay; sometimes, to cheat.
20. (intransitive, US, slang) To have sexual intercourse with.

Adjective

stick (comparative sticker, superlative stickest)

1. (informal) Likely to stick; sticking, sticky.

Etymology 3

Possibly a metaphorical use of the first etymology ("twig, branch"), possibly derived from the Yiddish schtick.

Noun

stick (plural sticks)

1. (Britain, uncountable) Criticism or ridicule.

Results 446 Words with the letters STICK

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