stick

I. noun Etymology: Middle English stik, from Old English sticca; akin to Old Norse stik stick, Old English stician to stick Date: before 12th century 1. a woody piece or part of a tree or shrub: as a. a usually dry or dead severed shoot, twig, or slender branch b. a cut or broken branch or piece of wood gathered for fuel or construction material 2. a. a long slender piece of wood or metal: as (1) a club or staff used as a weapon (2) walking stick b. an implement used for striking or propelling an object in a game c. something used to force compliance d. a baton symbolizing an office or dignity; also a person entitled to bear such a baton 3. a piece of the materials composing something (as a building) 4. any of various implements resembling a stick in shape, origin, or use: as a. composing stick b. an airplane lever operating the elevators and ailerons c. the gearshift lever of an automobile 5. something prepared (as by cutting, molding, or rolling) in a relatively long and slender often cylindrical form <

a stick of candy

> <

a stick of butter

> 6. a. person, chap b. a dull, inert, stiff, or spiritless person 7. plural remote usually rural districts regarded especially as backward, dull, or unsophisticated ; boondocks 8. an herbaceous stalk resembling a woody stick <

celery sticks

> 9. mast I,1; also yard I,4 10. a piece of furniture 11. a. a number of bombs arranged for release from a bombing plane in a series across a target b. a number of parachutists dropping together 12. slang a marijuana cigarette 13. a. punishment or the threat of punishment used to force compliance or cooperation <

choosing between the carrot and the stick

> b. British criticism, abuse • sticklike adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1937 to hit or propel (as a hockey puck) with a stick III. verb (stuck; sticking) Etymology: Middle English stikken, from Old English stician; akin to Old High German sticken to prick, Latin instigare to urge on, goad, Greek stizein to tattoo Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. a. to pierce with something pointed ; stab b. to kill by piercing 2. to push or thrust so as or as if to pierce 3. a. to fasten by thrusting in b. impale c. push, thrust 4. to put or set in a specified place or position 5. to furnish with things fastened on by or as if by piercing 6. to attach by or as if by causing to adhere to a surface 7. a. to compel to pay especially by trickery <

got stuck with the bar bill

> b. overcharge 8. a. to halt the movement or action of b. baffle, stump 9. a. cheat, defraud b. to saddle with something disadvantageous or disagreeable <

is still stuck with that lousy car

> 10. to execute (a landing) flawlessly in gymnastics intransitive verb 1. to hold to something firmly by or as if by adhesion: a. to become fixed in place by means of a pointed end b. to become fast by or as if by miring or by gluing or plastering <

stuck in the mud

> 2. a. to remain in a place, situation, or environment b. to hold fast or adhere resolutely ; cling <

she stuck to her story

> c. to remain effective d. to keep close in a chase or competition 3. to become blocked, wedged, or jammed 4. a. balk, scruple b. to find oneself baffled c. to be unable to proceed 5. project, protrude Synonyms: stick, adhere, cohere, cling, cleave mean to become closely attached. stick implies attachment by affixing or by being glued together <

couldn't get the label to stick

>. adhere is often interchangeable with stick but sometimes implies a growing together <

antibodies adhering to a virus

>. cohere suggests a sticking together of parts so that they form a unified mass <

eggs will make the mixture cohere

>. cling implies attachment by hanging on with arms or tendrils <

clinging to a capsized boat

>. cleave stresses strength of attachment <

the wet shirt cleaved to his back

>. IV. noun Date: 1633 1. a thrust with a pointed instrument ; stab 2. a. delay, stop b. impediment 3. adhesive quality or substance