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sting

[ sting ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

stung or (Obsolete) stang stung; stinging.

to prick or wound with a sharp-pointed, often venom-bearing organ.
to affect painfully or irritatingly as a result of contact, as certain plants do:
to be stung by nettles.
to cause to smart or to cause a sharp pain:
The blowing sand stung his eyes.
to cause mental or moral anguish:
to be stung with remorse.
to goad or drive, as by sharp irritation.
Slang. to cheat or take advantage of, especially to overcharge; soak.

verb (used without object)

stung or (Obsolete) stang stung; stinging.

to use, have, or wound with a sting, as bees.
to cause a sharp, smarting pain, as some plants, an acrid liquid or gas, or a slap or hit.
to cause acute mental pain or irritation, as annoying thoughts or one's conscience:
The memory of that insult still stings.
to feel acute mental pain or irritation:
He was stinging from the blow to his pride.
to feel a smarting pain, as from a blow or the sting of an insect:
His cheeks stung from the hail.

noun

an act or instance of stinging:
The allergic reaction to a sting may be delayed for several hours.
a wound, pain, or smart caused by stinging:
After an hour or so, the throbbing of the wasp sting subsided to a dull ache.
any sharp physical or mental wound, hurt, or pain:
Laser treatment for wrinkles sounds like magic, but some people can’t tolerate the accompanying sting and burn.
anything or an element in anything that wounds, pains, or irritates:
to feel the sting of defeat;
Death, where is thy sting?
capacity to wound or pain:
Satire has a sting.
a sharp stimulus or incitement:
driven by the sting of jealousy;
the sting of ambition.
Botany. a glandular hair on certain plants, as nettles, that emits an irritating fluid.
Zoology. any of various sharp-pointed, often venom-bearing organs of insects and other animals capable of inflicting painful or dangerous wounds.
Slang.
1. confidence game ( def ).
2. an ostensibly illegal operation, as the buying of stolen goods or the bribing of public officials, used by undercover investigators to collect evidence of wrongdoing.
Television. Sometimes . a brief burst of music or a sound effect used to emphasize a moment of humor, drama, or fright in a show, or to punctuate a transition or another part of a show’s structure.

sting

/ ��ɪŋ /

verb

(of certain animals and plants) to inflict a wound on (an organism) by the injection of poison
to feel or cause to feel a sharp mental or physical pain
tr to goad or incite (esp in the phrase sting into action )
informal.
tr to cheat, esp by overcharging

noun

a skin wound caused by the poison injected by certain insects or plants
pain caused by or as if by the sting of a plant or animal
a mental pain or pang
a sting of conscience
a sharp pointed organ, such as the ovipositor of a wasp, by which poison can be injected into the prey
the ability to sting
a sharp sting in his criticism
something as painful or swift of action as a sting
the sting of death
a sharp stimulus or incitement
botany another name for stinging hair
slang.
a swindle or fraud
slang.
a trap set up by the police to entice a person to commit a crime and thereby produce evidence
sting in the tail
an unexpected and unpleasant ending

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Derived Forms

ˈ��پ��Բ��Բ��, adverb
ˈ��پ��Բ��Բ��Ա��, noun
ˈ��پ��Բ��Բ�, adjective

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Other Word Forms

��پ��Բ�·��Բ�·�� adverb
��پ��Բ�·�� adjective
�ǳܳ�·��پ��Բ� verb (used with object) outstung outstinging
��·��پ��Բ� verb restung restinging
�ܲ�·��پ��Բ�·��Բ� adjective
�ܲ�·��پ��Բ�i�Բ�·�� adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of sting¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English verb stingen, Old English stingan “to pierce”; cognate with Old Norse stinga “to pierce,” Gothic -stangan (in usstangan “to pull out”); the noun is derivative of the verb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of sting¹

Old English stingan; related to Old Norse stinga to pierce, Gothic usstangan to pluck out, Greek stakhus ear of corn

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Idioms and Phrases

see take the sting out of .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The Clippers had two days off to recover from the sting of losing Game 4.

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Despite the stinging rain and unpredictable winds, the friendly, laid-back crowd — a diverse bunch mostly made up of millennials and zoomers — seem perfectly content to wait their turn.

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The method - called oral immunotherapy - is already proven to work for allergies to pollen, wasp and bee stings.

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It was only a matter of time before he got stung.

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Sarah Sherman's impersonation of Aimee Lou Wood on a recent episode of "Saturday Night Live" was gone in a flash, but that didn't lessen the sting for the star of "The White Lotus."

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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