Illustration of stick
- a lacrosse
- b ice hockey
- c field hockey
1
: a woody piece or part of a tree or shrub: such 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: such as
(1)
: a club or staff used as a weapon
(2)
b
: an implement used for striking or propelling an object in a game
a lacrosse/hockey stick
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 (such as a building)
4
a
: something that is long and thin like a stick
He has sticks for legs.
b
: any of various implements resembling a stick in shape, origin, or use: such as
(1)
(2)
: an airplane lever operating the elevators and ailerons
(3)
: the gearshift lever of an automobile
5
: something prepared (as by cutting, molding, or rolling) in a relatively long and slender often cylindrical form
carrot sticks
a stick of butter/candy/gum
a glue stick
a stick of dynamite
7
sticks 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 entry 1 sense 1
also
: yard entry 1 sense 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
sticked; sticking; sticks
: to hit or propel (something, such as a hockey puck) with a stick
stuck
ˈstək
; sticking
1
a
: to pierce with something pointed : stab
stuck him with a sword
sticking their arms with needles
b
: to kill by piercing
2
: to push or thrust so as or as if to pierce
stuck a toothpick in the sandwich
4
: to put or set in a specified place or position
stuck the pencil behind her ear
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
stuck a stamp on the envelope
7
a
: to compel to pay especially by trickery
got stuck with the bar bill
b
9
10
: to execute (a landing) flawlessly in gymnastics
1
: to hold to something firmly by or as if by adhesion:
a
: to become fixed in place by means of a pointed end
a thorn stuck in the dog's paw
b
: to become fast by or as if by miring or by gluing or plastering
stuck in the mud
—often used figurativelywords that stuck in my mind
a nickname that stuck
2
a
: to remain in a place, situation, or environment
stuck in a job
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
The door is stuck.
Cite this Entry
“Stick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stick. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.
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