Stick Definition

stĭk

sticked, sticking, sticks, stuck

noun

sticks

A long, usually slender piece of wood.

Webster's New World

A stalk, as of celery.

Webster's New World

An implement used for striking a ball, puck, etc.

A hockey stick.

Webster's New World

Something that comes in narrow or oblong pieces.

A stick of chewing gum, of butter, of dynamite, etc.

Webster's New World

A separate item; article.

Every stick of furniture.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

verb

sticking, sticks, stuck

To execute (a landing or dismount) in gymnastics so that the feet do not move after they hit the ground.

American Heritage

To be or remain attached by adhesion; adhere; cleave.

Webster's New World

To detain or delay.

We were stuck at the airport overnight.

American Heritage

To keep close.

To stick to a trail.

Webster's New World

To pierce something with (a knife, pin, etc.)

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

adjective

(informal) Likely to stick; sticking, sticky.

A non-stick pan. A stick plaster.

A sticker type of glue. The stickest kind of gum.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

pronoun

(music) The Chapman Stick, an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman.

Wiktionary

idiom

be stuck on

To be very fond of.

American Heritage

stick it to

To treat severely or wrongfully.

American Heritage

stick (one's) neck out

To make oneself vulnerable; take a risk.

American Heritage

stick to

To hold fast to an opinion or a set course of action.

American Heritage

stick to (one's) knitting

To mind one's own business.

American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Stick

Noun

Singular:

stick

Plural:

sticks

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Stick

be stuck on
stick it to
stick (one's) neck out
stick to
stick to (one's) knitting
stick to (one's) ribs
stick up for
on the stick
stick around
stick by
stick it out
stick it to someone
stick to someone's ribs
stick up
stick up for
the sticks

Origin of 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-Germanic *stikōnÄ… (“to pierce, prick, be sharp") (cf. also the related *stikanÄ…, whence West Frisian stekke, Low German steken, Dutch steken, German stechen; compare also Danish stikke, Swedish sticka), from Proto-Indo-European *steig- or *stig- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp").

From Wiktionary
From Middle English stikke (“stick, rod, twig"), from Old English sticca (“rod, twig"), from Proto-Germanic *stikkô, from Proto-Indo-European *steig- or *stig- (“to pierce, prick, be sharp").

From Wiktionary
Cognate to 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.

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

From Wiktionary
Middle English stikke from Old English sticca steig- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition