stuck

[ stuhk ]

/ stʌk /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR stuck ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

simple past tense and past participle of stick².

Idioms for stuck

stuck on, Informal. infatuated with: He met her only once and is already stuck on her.

OTHER WORDS FROM stuck

self-stuck, adjective

Words nearby stuck

stubbs, stubby, stuc, stucco, stuccowork, stuck, stuck for, be, stuck on, be, stuck with, stuck-up, stuckism

Definition for stuck (2 of 3)

stick ¹

[ stik ]

/ stɪk /

noun

a branch or shoot of a tree or shrub that has been cut or broken off.

a relatively long and slender piece of wood.

a long piece of wood for use as fuel, in carpentry, etc.

a rod or wand.

a baton.

Chiefly British. a walking stick or cane.

a club or cudgel.

something that serves to goad or coerce: The threat of unemployment was the stick that kept the workers toiling overtime. Compare carrot(def 3).

a long, slender piece or part of anything: a stick of candy; sticks of celery.

any of four equal parts in a pound of butter or margarine.

Sports. an implement used to drive or propel a ball or puck, as a crosse or a hockey stick.

Aeronautics. a lever, usually with a handle, by which the longitudinal and lateral motions of an airplane are controlled.

Nautical. a mast or spar.

Printing. composing stick.

the sticks, Informal. any region distant from cities or towns, as rural districts; the country: Having lived in a large city all his life, he found it hard to adjust to the sticks.

Military.

a group of bombs so arranged as to be released in a row across a target.
the bomb load.

Informal. stick shift.

Slang. a marijuana cigarette.

Informal. an unenthusiastic or uninteresting person.

Informal. a portion of liquor, as brandy, added to a nonalcoholic drink.

verb (used with object), sticked, stick·ing.

to furnish (a plant, vine, etc.) with a stick or sticks in order to prop or support.

Printing. to set (type) in a composing stick.

Origin of stick

before 1000; Middle English stikke, Old English sticca; akin to Old High German stehho, Old Norse stik stick; akin to stick²

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

stick·less, adjective stick·like, adjective

Definition for stuck (3 of 3)

stick ²

[ stik ]

/ stɪk /

verb (used with object), stuck, stick·ing.

to pierce or puncture with something pointed, as a pin, dagger, or spear; stab: to stick one's finger with a needle.

to kill by this means: to stick a pig.

to thrust (something pointed) in, into, through, etc.: to stick a needle into a pincushion.

to fasten in position by thrusting a point or end into something: to stick a peg in a pegboard.

to fasten in position by or as if by something thrust through: to stick a painting on the wall.

to put on or hold with something pointed; impale: to stick a marshmallow on a fork.

to decorate or furnish with things piercing the surface: to stick a cushion full of pins.

to furnish or adorn with things attached or set here and there: to stick shelves full of knickknacks.

to place upon a stick or pin for exhibit: to stick butterflies.

to thrust or poke into a place or position indicated: to stick one's head out of the window.

to place or set in a specified position; put: Stick the chair in the corner.

to fasten or attach by causing to adhere: to stick a stamp on a letter.

to bring to a standstill; render unable to proceed or go back (usually used in the passive): The car was stuck in the mud.

Carpentry. to start (a nail).

Ceramics. to join (pieces of partially hardened clay) together, using slip as an adhesive.

Chiefly British Informal. to tolerate; endure: He couldn't stick the job more than three days.

to confuse or puzzle; bewilder; perplex; nonplus: He was stuck by the very first problem on the test.

Informal. to impose something disagreeable upon (a person or persons), as a large bill or a difficult task: The committee persistently stuck him with fund collection.

Informal. to cheat.

Slang: Often Vulgar. to go to hell with: often used imperatively.

verb (used without object), stuck, stick·ing.

to have the point piercing or embedded in something: The arrow stuck in the tree.

to remain attached by adhesion.

to hold, cleave, or cling: The young rider stuck to the back of his terrified horse.

to remain persistently or permanently: a fact that sticks in the mind.

to remain firm, as in resolution, opinion, statement, or attachment; hold faithfully, as to a promise or bargain.

to keep or remain steadily or unremittingly, as to a task, undertaking, or the like: to stick to a job until it is finished.

to become fastened, hindered, checked, or stationary by some obstruction: Her zipper stuck halfway up.

to be at a standstill, as from difficulties: I'm stuck on this problem.

to be embarrassed or puzzled; hesitate or scruple (usually followed by at).

to be thrust or placed so as to extend, project, or protrude (usually followed by through, from, out, up, etc.).

noun

a thrust with a pointed instrument; stab.

a stoppage or standstill.

something causing delay or difficulty.

the quality of adhering or of causing things to adhere.

something causing adhesion.

Verb Phrases

stick around, Informal. to wait in the vicinity; linger: If you had stuck around, you'd have seen the fireworks.

stick by/to, to maintain one's attachment or loyalty to; remain faithful to: They vowed to stick by one another no matter what happened.

stick out, to extend; protrude: Stick out your tongue. Your shirttail is sticking out.

stick up, Informal. to rob, especially at gunpoint: A lone gunman stuck up the gas station.

stick up for, to speak in favor of; come to the defense of; support: She always sticks up for him, even though he doesn't deserve it.

Origin of stick

before 900; Middle English stiken, Old English stician to pierce, thrust; akin to German stechen to sting, Latin -stīg- in instīgāre (see instigate), Greek stízein (see stigma)

SYNONYMS FOR stick

1 penetrate, spear.

6 transfix.

9 pin.

12 glue, cement, paste.

22 Stick, adhere, cohere mean to cling to or be tightly attached to something. Adhere implies that one kind of material clings tenaciously to another; cohere adds the idea that a thing is attracted to and held by something like itself: Particles of sealing wax cohere and form a mass that will adhere to tin. Stick, a more colloquial and general term, is used particularly when a third kind of material is involved: A gummed label will stick to a package.

29 stickle, waver, doubt.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR stick ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

stick·a·ble, adjective stick·a·bil·i·ty, noun re·stick·a·ble, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for stuck

Within minutes, it seems, of the disclosures of these tragic events, large numbers of people chose a side and stuck to it.

In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion |Gene Robinson |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
What stuck in my mind were the two supporting actors, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin.

The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile |Robert Ward |January 3, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Occasionally a pamphlet for a salsa class might be tossed on a doorstop or stuck on a pole near a bus stop.

Iran’s Becoming a Footloose Nation as Dance Lessons Spread |IranWire |January 2, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
As the rest of the country changed, Atlantic City seemed to be stuck in the past, and tourism eventually died off.

I Watched a Casino Kill Itself: The Awful Last Nights of Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal |Olivia Nuzzi |December 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Are we all so stuck in our roles that when a given issue comes up, we just default to type?

The St. Louis Rams Enter the Ferguson Fray |Sally Kohn |December 1, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
"I'd get thrown out on my bean if I ever stuck my nose in the kitchen door," Murk said.

The Brand of Silence |Harrington Strong
Thee'll think she's a-gittin' stuck up, an' she'll think thee's a-gittin'low-minded.

Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science |Various
Taigarot perceived this, and the next time Holofernes stuck the spurs in him, he threw the Flame-king.

Fairy Tales From all Nations |Anthony R. Montalba
But when I began to go deeper into the thing, why, I got stuck.

Slippy McGee, Sometimes Known as the Butterfly Man |Marie Conway Oemler
He stuck his hand through the unglazed window of a never-built shop and plucked out a toy in a battered box.

Makers |Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (1 of 3)

stuck

/ (stʌk) /

verb

the past tense and past participle of stick 2

adjective

informal baffled or nonplussed

(foll by on) slang keen (on) or infatuated (with)

get stuck in or get stuck into informal

to perform (a task) with determination
to attack (a person) verbally or physically

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (2 of 3)

stick ¹

/ (stɪk) /

noun

a small thin branch of a tree

any long thin piece of wood
such a piece of wood having a characteristic shape for a special purposea walking stick; a hockey stick
a baton, wand, staff, or rod

an object or piece shaped like a stick a stick of celery; a stick of dynamite

See control stick

informal the lever used to change gear in a motor vehicle

nautical a mast or yard

printing See composing stick

a group of bombs arranged to fall at intervals across a target
a number of paratroops jumping in sequence

slang

verbal abuse, criticismI got some stick for that blunder
physical power, force (esp in the phrase give it some stick)

(usually plural) a piece of furniture these few sticks are all I have

(plural) informal a rural area considered remote or backward (esp in the phrase in the sticks)

(plural) Canadian West coast and Northwestern Canadian informal the wooded interior part of the country

(plural) hockey a declaration made by the umpire if a player's stick is above the shoulders

(plural) goalposts

US obsolete a cannabis cigarette

a means of coercion

informal a dull boring person

(usually preceded by old) informal a familiar name for a person not a bad old stick

in a cleft stick in a difficult position

wrong end of the stick a complete misunderstanding of a situation, explanation, etc

verb sticks, sticking or sticked

to support (a plant) with sticks; stake

Word Origin for stick

Old English sticca; related to Old Norse stikka, Old High German stecca

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (3 of 3)

stick ²

/ (stɪk) /

verb sticks, sticking or stuck

(tr) to pierce or stab with or as if with something pointed

to thrust or push (a sharp or pointed object) or (of a sharp or pointed object) to be pushed into or through another object

(tr) to fasten in position by pushing or forcing a point into something to stick a peg in a hole

(tr) to fasten in position by or as if by pins, nails, etc to stick a picture on the wall

(tr) to transfix or impale on a pointed object

(tr) to cover with objects piercing or set in the surface

(when intr, foll by out, up, through, etc) to put forward or be put forward; protrude or cause to protrude to stick one's head out of the window

(tr) informal to place or put in a specified position stick your coat on this chair

to fasten or be fastened by or as if by an adhesive substance stick the pages together; they won't stick

(tr) informal to cause to become sticky

(when tr, usually passive) to come or cause to come to a standstill we were stuck for hours in a traffic jam; the wheels stuck

(intr) to remain for a long time the memory sticks in my mind

(tr) slang, mainly British to tolerate; abide I can't stick that man

(intr) to be reluctant

(tr; usually passive) informal to cause to be at a loss; baffle, puzzle, or confuse I was totally stuck for an answer

(tr) slang to force or impose something unpleasant on they stuck me with the bill for lunch

(tr) to kill by piercing or stabbing

stick in one's throat or stick in one's craw informal to be difficult, or against one's conscience, for one to accept, utter, or believe

stick one's nose into See nose (def. 17)

stick to the ribs informal (of food) to be hearty and satisfying

noun

the state or condition of adhering

informal a substance causing adhesion

obsolete something that causes delay or stoppage

See also stick around, stick at, stick by, stick down, stick out, stick to, stick together, stick-up, stick with, stuck

Word Origin for stick

Old English stician; related to Old High German stehhan to sting, Old Norse steikja to roast on a spit

Idioms and Phrases with stuck

stick

In addition to the idioms beginning with stick

stick around
stick at
stick by
stick in one's craw
stick it
stick it to someone
stick one's neck out
stick out
stick to
stick together
stick to one's guns
stick to one's last
stick to the ribs
stick up
stick up for
stick with
sticky fingers

also see:

carrot and stick
get on the stick
make stick
more than one can shake a stick at
short end of the stick
stand (stick) up for
wrong end of the stick

Also see understuck.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

stuck

verb

Idioms for stuck

OTHER WORDS FROM stuck

Words nearby stuck

Definition for stuck (2 of 3)

noun

verb (used with object), sticked, stick·ing.

Origin of stick

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

Definition for stuck (3 of 3)

verb (used with object), stuck, stick·ing.

verb (used without object), stuck, stick·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of stick

SYNONYMS FOR stick

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

Example sentences from the Web for stuck

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (1 of 3)

verb

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (2 of 3)

noun

verb sticks, sticking or sticked

Word Origin for stick

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (3 of 3)

verb sticks, sticking or stuck

noun

Word Origin for stick

Idioms and Phrases with stuck

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

stuck

verb

Idioms for stuck

OTHER WORDS FROM stuck

Words nearby stuck

Definition for stuck (2 of 3)

noun

verb (used with object), sticked, stick·ing.

Origin of stick

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

Definition for stuck (3 of 3)

verb (used with object), stuck, stick·ing.

verb (used without object), stuck, stick·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of stick

SYNONYMS FOR stick

OTHER WORDS FROM stick

Words related to stuck

Example sentences from the Web for stuck

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (1 of 3)

verb

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (2 of 3)

noun

verb sticks, sticking or sticked

Word Origin for stick

British Dictionary definitions for stuck (3 of 3)

verb sticks, sticking or stuck

noun

Word Origin for stick

Idioms and Phrases with stuck