stick

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A thin piece of wood, especially one that has fallen from a tree.

   We collected dry sticks for a campfire.

2. 2
   noun

   A long thin piece of something shaped like a stick.

   She added two cinnamon sticks to the drink.

3. 3
   verb

   To attach or join something using glue or another sticky substance.

   Stick the poster onto the wall.

4. 4
   verb

   To push a pointed object into something.

   Stick the corner of the sheet under the mattress.

5. 5
   verb

   To become firmly fixed and hard to move or separate.

   The door always sticks in wet weather.

Multiword verbs with stick

• stick around Phrasal verb B1

  to remain somewhere instead of leaving

• stick out Phrasal verb B1

  to project beyond a surrounding surface or edge

• stick to Prepositional verb B1

  to remain attached to a surface without separating

• stick together Phrasal verb B1

  to become attached to one another so that separation is difficult

Appears in

Simplified etymology

The noun stick, meaning a thin piece of wood, and the verb stick, meaning to thrust in something pointed or to adhere, are both Old English words. They are probably connected through the underlying idea of piercing or pricking; the later adjective sticky developed through the notion of attaching one thing to another with something sharp.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- Proto-Indo-European *stignéh₂- Proto-Germanic *stikkōną Proto-West Germanic *stikkōn Old English stician Middle English stiken English stick 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-West Germanic *stikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *stikkōną (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tig-, *(s)teyg- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp”). See also the related Proto-Germanic *stikaną, whence West Frisian stekke, Low G…

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary