stick

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Stick

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1 English
2 Swedish

[ English

[ Pronunciation

enPR: stĭk
IPA: /stɪk/
SAMPA: /stIk/
Audio (US)^{help, file}
Rhymes: -ɪk

[ Etymology 1

From Middle English stikke (stick, rod, twig) < Old English sticca (rod, twig) < Proto-Germanic *stikkon- (to pierce, to prick) < Proto-Indo-European *steig- or *stig- (to pierce, prick, be sharp).

[ Noun

Singular
stick

Plural
sticks

stick (plural sticks)

A small branch from a tree or bush. ^syn.^transl.

The nest was made out of sticks.
A relatively long, thin piece of wood, of any size. ^transl.

I found several good sticks in the scrap pile at the construction site.
- 1887 August 23, "At Work on the Thistle"^[1], The New York Times,
  
  It is a fine stick, about 70 feet long.
Any roughly cylindrical piece of a substance. ^transl.

Cigarettes are taxed at one dollar per stick.

This wax is available as a stick.
A bunch of something wrapped around or attached to a stick.

He took a stick of newspapers from the rack at the library.

My parents bought us each a stick of cotton candy.
A standard thin block of butter or margarine.

The recipe calls for half a stick of butter.
A standard rectangular piece of chewing gum. ^transl.

Don’t hog all that gum, give me a stick!
A cane to aid in walking. ^syn.^transl.

I don’t need my stick to walk, but it’s helpful.
A cudgel or truncheon, especially one carried by police or guards.

As soon as the fight started, the guards came in swinging their sticks.
A negative stimulus or a punishment.
- 1998 January 23, ""Judicial activism has ushered in hope""^[2], Indian Express,
  
  What about contempt? Isn't it used by the judiciary as a stick to dissuade people from writing or talking about them?
(figuratively) A piece of furniture. ^usage^syn.

We were so poor we didn't have one stick of furniture.
- 1862, W.M. Thackeray, The Adventures of Philip^[3], printed in Harper's New Monthly Magazine Vol. XXV, page 242,
  
  It is more than poor Philip is worth, with all his savings and his little sticks of furniture.
(colloquial) A manual transmission or vehicle equipped with a manual transmission. ^syn.^transl.

I grew up driving a stick, but many Americans my age didn’t.
(UK, uncountable) Criticism or ridicule.
- 2008 May 3, Chris Roberts, "It’s a stroll in the park!"^[4], Huddersfield Daily Examiner,
  
  I got some stick personally because of my walking attire. I arrived to training fully kitted out in sturdy walking boots.
(South Africa) A line of soldiers.
- 2007, Bart Wolffe, Persona Non Grata^[5], ISBN 1430304774, page 245,
  
  I remember when we dreaded the rain, as our stick of soldiers walked through the damp, tick-infested long grass of the Zambezi valley, […]
(computing) A memory stick.
- 2007 May 1, Alex Fethiere, "Tech front: Alex Fethiere takes eleven notable portables for a high-tech test-drive"^[6], Business Traveler,
  
  For ultimate presentation portability, a Powerpoint can be saved to a stick as images.
(sports) A long thin implement used to control a ball or puck in sports like hockey, polo and lacrosse. ^transl.

That was illegal tripping with the stick.
(horse racing) The short whip carried by a jockey.
(boardsports) A board as used in board sports, such as a surfboard, snowboard, or skateboard.
- 2005, surf.co.nz [7],
  
  Wax your stick and head down to that spot.
(golf) The pole bearing a small flag which marks the hole. ^syn.

His putt bounced off the stick and went in.
(golf, uncountable) The long-range driving ability of a golf club.
- 1988, William Hallberg, The Rub of the Green^[8], page 219,
  
  I doubted that the three iron was enough stick.
(baseball, uncountable) Hitting ability.
- 2002 May 19, Mike Lupica, "Just Need A Little Mo"^[9], New York Daily News,
  
  Vaughn has to hit and keep hitting or this will be another year when the Mets don't have enough stick to win.
(magic) An assistant planted in the audience. ^syn.
- 2001, Paul Quarrington, The Spirit Cabinet^[10], page 255,
  
  The kid was a stick, a plant, a student from UNLV who picked up a few bucks nightly by saying the words "seven of hearts."
(dated, metal typesetting) The tool used by compositors to form lines of type.
- 1854, Thomas Ford, The Compositor's Handbook^[11], page 125,
  
  […] although the headings may often be in other type, still, as these are composed in the same stick, they cannot fail to justify; […]
(aviation) The control column of an aircraft. ^transl.
(aviation, uncountable) Use of the stick to control the aircraft.
- 1941, Jay D. Blaufox, 33 Lessons in Flying, page 47,
  
  For example: in making a turn, should you throw on too much stick and not enough rudder, you'll sideslip.
(carpentry) The vertical member of a cope-and-stick joint.
- 1997, Joseph Beals, "Building Interior Doors", in Doors^[12], Taunton Press, ISBN 1561582042, page 82,
  
  When cutting the door parts, I cut all the copes first, then the sticks.
(military, dated) A cluster of bombs dropped in quick succession from an aircraft in order to spread them over a target area. ^syn.
- 2006, Farley Mowat, Aftermath: Travels in a Post-War World^[13], ISBN 0811733386, page 200,
  
  A stick of bombs fell straight across Wotton; blew up half a dozen houses.
(military) A group of paratroopers who jump together.
- 2006, Holly Aho, From Here to There^[14], ISBN 1411675401, page 48,
  
  James and I were in the same stick of five guys going through free fall school last September.
(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (military) A line of infantry in a landing craft (usually 2 per craft)
(archaic) A scroll (rolled around a stick).
- 1611, The Bible, King James Version, Ezekiel 37:16,
  
  Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it […]
(archaic, rare) A quantity of eels, usually 25. ^syn.
- 1866, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England^[15], ISBN 140217120X, Volume 1, page 171,
  
  The stick is employed for eels, and contained twenty-five.
- 1999, Claire Breay, The Cartulary of Chatteris Abbey^[16], ISBN 0851157505, page 62,
  
  In the same charter, Nigel granted another 10 sticks of eels yielded by the fishery of Polwere to the abbey […]
(obsolete) An Imperial unit of length equal to 2 inches.
- 1921, Elmer Davis, History of the New York Times, 1851-1921^[17], page 61,
  
  There was another speech in that day's news — a speech which The Times printed on the front page because it was part of a front-page story, and in full — it was only two sticks long; printed in full just after the much longer invocation by the officiating clergyman […]
(slang, uncountable) Corporal punishment; beatings.
- 1999, Eve McDougall, A Wicked Fist^[18], ISBN 190155709X, page 69,
  
  The child killers got some stick. I saw a woman throw a basin of scalding water over a baby killer.
(slang) Vigorous driving of a car; gas.
- 2006, Martyn J. Pass & Dani Pass, Waiting for Red^[19], ISBN 1905237553, page 163,
  
  Skunk really gave it some stick all the way to Caliban's place, we passed a good few Coppers but they all seemed to turn the blind eye.
(slang) Vigor; spirit.
- 1979, Don Bannister, Sam Chard^[20], ISBN 071000219X, page 185,
  
  'Choir gave it some stick on "Unto Us a Son is Born."' ¶ Cynthia nodded. ¶ 'It was always one of Russell's favourites. He makes them try hard on that.'
(slang) A thin person; particularly a flat-chested woman.
- 1967, Cecelia Holland, Rakóssy^[21], page 39,
  
  "She's a stick, this one. She lacks your—" he patted her left breast— "equipment."
(slang) An unsocial person, particularly one who is either withdrawn or stuck-up.
- 1925, Lynn Montross, East of Eden^[22], page 37,
  
  Ida's such a stick; she never goes anywhere.
(slang, dated) A person having the stated quality.
- 1967, Maurice Shadbolt, The Presence of Music: Three Novellas^[23], page 54,
  
  Your father's a great old stick. He's really been very good to me.
(slang) A marijuana cigarette. ^syn.
- 1961, Carmelo Soraci, The Convict and the Stained Glass Windows^[24], page 230,
  
  […] and how they'd give anything to have a fix or puff on a stick of dope.
(jazz, slang) The clarinet. ^syn.
- 1948, Frederic Ramsey, Jr., "Deep Sea Rider", in Charles Harvey ed., Jazz Parody: Anthology of Jazz Fiction,
  
  Arsene, boy, ain't you worried about your clarinet? Where'd you leave that stick, man?
(US slang, uncountable) The game of pool, or an individual pool game.

He shoots a mean stick of pool.
- 2003, Lew Bryson, New York Breweries^[25], ISBN 081172817X, page 74,
  
  Come in, have a good time, drink some beer, shoot some stick, listen to some music.
(Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (Australian slang) Approximately one gram of marijuana wrapped in aluminium foil in a small cylinder.