stick
stick [stick sticks stuck sticking] verb, noun BrE [stɪk] NAmE [stɪk]
verb (stuck, stuckBrE [stʌk] ; NAmE [stʌk] )
PUSH STH IN
1. transitive, intransitive to push sth, usually a sharp object, into sth; to be pushed into sth
•~ sth + adv./prep. The nurse stuck the needle into my arm.
• Don't stick your fingers through the bars of the cage.
•+ adv./prep. I found a nail sticking in the tyre.
ATTACH
2. transitive, intransitive to fix sth to sth else, usually with a sticky substance; to become fixed to sth in this way
•~ sth + adv./prep. He stuck a stamp on the envelope.
• We used glue to stick the broken pieces together.
•I stuck the photos into an album.
•+ adv./prep. Her wet clothes were sticking to her body.
•The glue's useless— the pieces just won't stick.
PUT
3. transitive ~ sth + adv./prep. (informal)to put sth in a place, especially quickly or carelessly
•Stick your bags down there.
•He stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled off.
•Can you stick this on the noticeboard?
•Peter stuck his head around the door and said, ‘Coffee, anyone?’
• (informal)Stick 'em up! (= put your hands above your head — I have a gun!)
4. transitive sb can stick sth (informal)used to say in a rude and angry way that you are not interested in what sb has, offers, does, etc.
•I got sick of my boss's moaning and told him he could stick the job.
BECOME FIXED
5. intransitive ~ (in sth) to become fixed in one position and impossible to move
Syn: ↑jam
• The key has stuck in the lock.
• This drawer keeps sticking.
DIFFICULT SITUATION
6. transitive (BrE, informal) (usually used in negative sentences and questions)to accept a difficult or unpleasant situation or person
Syn: ↑stand
•~ sth/sb I don't know how you stick that job.
•They're always arguing— I can't stick it any longer.
•The problem is, my mother can't stick my boyfriend.
•~ doing sth John can't stick living with his parents.
BECOME ACCEPTED
7. intransitive to become accepted
•The police couldn't make the charges stick (= show them to be true).
•His friends called him Bart and the name has stuck (= has become the name that everyone calls him).
IN CARD GAMES
8. intransitive to not take any more cards
see also ↑stuck
more at put/stick the boot in at ↑boot n., put/stick two fingers up at/to sb/sth at ↑finger n., put stick the knife input/stick the knife into sb at ↑knife n., stand/stick out a mile at ↑mile, mud sticks at ↑mud, poke/stick your nose into sth at ↑nose n., put/stick your oar in at ↑oar, stand/stick out like a sore thumb at ↑sore adj., tell sb where to put/stick sth at ↑tell
Verb forms: 
Word Origin:
n. Old English sticca ‘peg, stick, spoon’ West Germanic Dutch stek ‘cutting from a plant’ German Stecken ‘staff, stick’ v. Old English stician Germanic German sticken ‘embroider’ Indo-European Greek stizein ‘to prick’ stigma ‘a mark’ Latin instigare ‘spur on’ ‘pierce’ ‘remain fixed (by its embedded pointed end)’
Thesaurus:
stick verb
1. T, I (always used with an adverb or preposition)
•She stuck a pin in the balloon.
push • • press • • poke • • ram • • force • • drive • |informal shove • |written thrust •
stick/push/press/poke/ram/force/drive/shove/thrust sth into sth
stick/push/poke/force/drive/shove/thrust sth through sth
2. T, I (always used with an adverb or preposition)
•Stick a stamp on the envelope.
put • • attach • • glue • • tape • • fasten • |especially BrE fix • |formal secure •
stick/attach/glue/tape/fasten/fix/secure sth to sth
stick/put/glue/tape/fasten/fix sth on sth
stick/glue/tape/fasten sth together
Example Bank:
•He simply stuck a pin in at random among the names of candidates.
•He stuck the note through her letter box.
•I tended to stick to tried and tested techniques.
•She simply made a decision and resolutely stuck to it.
•What is the point of sticking slavishly to the rules?
•Her wet hair was sticking to her head.
•I forgot to stick a stamp on the envelope.
•She stuck a finger into the sugar bowl.
•Stick 'em up!
•The little boy had stuck his head through the railings.
•The nurse stuck a needle into my arm.
•This glue's useless— the pieces just won't stick.
Idioms: ↑stick in your craw ▪ ↑stick in your mind ▪ ↑stick to your guns ▪ ↑stick your neck out
Derived: ↑stick around ▪ ↑stick at something ▪ ↑stick by somebody ▪ ↑stick by something ▪ ↑stick it out ▪ ↑stick out ▪ ↑stick out for something ▪ ↑stick something down ▪ ↑stick something out ▪ ↑stick to something ▪ ↑stick together ▪ ↑stick up ▪ ↑stick up for somebody ▪ ↑stick with somebody
noun 
FROM TREE
1. countable a thin piece of wood that has fallen or been broken from a tree
• We collected dry sticks to start a fire.
• The boys were throwing sticks and stones at the dog.
•Her arms and legs were like sticks (= very thin).
FOR WALKING
2. countable (especially BrE) = ↑walking stick
• The old lady leant on her stick as she talked.
see also ↑shooting stick, ↑white stick
IN SPORT
3. countable a long thin object that is used in some sports to hit or control the ball
•a hockey stick
LONG THIN PIECE
4. countable (often in compounds)a long thin piece of sth
•a stick of dynamite
•carrot sticks
• (NAmE)a stick of butter
see also ↑French stick
5. countable (often in compounds)a thin piece of wood or plastic that you use for a particular purpose
•pieces of pineapple on sticks
• The men were carrying spades and measuring sticks.
see also ↑chopstick, ↑cocktail stick, ↑drumstick, ↑matchstick, ↑yardstick
OF GLUE, ETC.
6. countable a quantity of a substance, such as solid glue, that is sold in a small container with round ends and straight sides, and can be pushed further out of the container as it is used
see also ↑lipstick
IN PLANE/VEHICLE
7. countable (informal, especially NAmE)the control stick of a plane
see also ↑joystick
8. countable (informal, especially NAmE)a handle used to change the gears of a vehicle
see also ↑gear lever, ↑stick shift
FOR ORCHESTRA
9. countable a ↑baton, used by the person who ↑conducts an ↑orchestra
CRITICISM
10. uncountable (BrE, informal)criticism or severe words
•The referee got a lot of stick from the home fans.
COUNTRY AREAS
11. the sticksplural (informal, usually disapproving)country areas, a long way from cities
•We live out in the sticks.
PERSON
12. countable (old-fashioned, BrE, informal)a person
•He's not such a bad old stick. There are many other compounds ending in stick. You will find them at their place in the alphabet.
see a rod/stick to beat sb with at ↑beat v., the big stick at ↑big adj., the carrot and (the) stick (approach) at ↑carrot, be (caught) in a cleft stick at ↑cleft adj., get the short end of the stick at ↑short adj., up sticks at ↑up v., get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick at ↑wrong adj.
Word Origin:
n. Old English sticca ‘peg, stick, spoon’ West Germanic Dutch stek ‘cutting from a plant’ German Stecken ‘staff, stick’ v. Old English stician Germanic German sticken ‘embroider’ Indo-European Greek stizein ‘to prick’ stigma ‘a mark’ Latin instigare ‘spur on’ ‘pierce’ ‘remain fixed (by its embedded pointed end)’
Example Bank:
•Serve the prawns on cocktail sticks.
•The man had sticks of dynamite strapped to his chest.
•The savoury dips were served with sticks of carrot and celery.
•a stick of butter
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