# stiff

Pronunciation: say "STIF" /stɪf/

## Adjective

1. Rigid and hard to bend; not flexible.
   - Simple: Hard to bend or fold because it does not move easily.
   - _The wire was stiff enough to hold its shape once bent._
   - _A stiff sheet of plastic protected the documents from creasing._
2. Sore and less flexible than usual as a result of heavy or unaccustomed exercise.
   - Simple: Sore and hard to move after too much or unfamiliar exercise.
   - _Her shoulders were stiff after the first day of rowing practice._
   - _Runners often wake up stiff after their longest training sessions._
3. Formal and tense in manner; not relaxed or at ease.
   - Simple: Acting in a very formal way and not relaxed.
   - _Their conversation stayed stiff and polite throughout the dinner._
   - _She offered a stiff handshake instead of the warm greeting he expected._
4. Unyielding in attitude or principle; not open to compromise.
   - Simple: Unwilling to change or bend, as with rules or opinions.
   - _The board took a stiff position and refused to soften the policy._
   - _Her stiff insistence on the original plan left no room for discussion._
5. Strong or powerful in effect, especially of an alcoholic drink.
   - Simple: Strong in effect, especially a drink with a lot of alcohol.
   - _She mixed him a stiff cocktail to settle his nerves._
   - _A stiff breeze carried the small boat far from shore._
6. Harsh or severe, as of a penalty, sentence, or challenge. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Hard and harsh, like a heavy punishment or strong competition.
   - _New offenders now face stiff penalties under the revised law._
   - _The startup ran into stiff resistance from established rivals._
7. So thick and dense in consistency that it is hard to stir.
   - Simple: Thick and hard to stir or mix.
   - _Keep adding flour until the batter becomes stiff._
   - _The cooled glue had grown stiff and resisted the brush._
8. Expensive; higher in price than one would expect. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Costing more money than you would expect.
   - _Tickets to the concert came with a stiff resale markup._
   - _The lawyer's stiff fees discouraged many smaller clients._
9. No longer living; dead. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Dead and not alive any more.
   - _After the crash, both passengers were stiff before the ambulance came._
   - _The hikers came across a deer that had been stiff for days._
10. Beaten until so full of air that it holds its shape and stands upright on its own.
   - Simple: Beaten so full of air that it stands up on its own without falling.
   - _Whisk the whites until they form stiff, glossy peaks._
   - _The recipe calls for cream beaten stiff enough to fold into the batter._
16. Of the penis, erect; hard and upright through sexual arousal. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Hard and standing up, said of a man's penis when he is excited.
   - _He was already stiff before she even touched him._
   - _The cold air did nothing to keep him from going stiff._
24. Of a vessel, tending to keep upright and resist heeling under wind or load.
   - Simple: Of a boat, able to stay upright and not lean over too much.
   - _The schooner stayed stiff even with full sail in fresh wind._
   - _Builders added ballast to the keel to make the hull stiff._
25. Of a golf shot, landing so close to the flagstick that the next shot should be very easy to sink.
   - Simple: Of a golf shot, landing very close to the hole so the next shot is easy.
   - _He knocked his wedge stiff and tapped in for birdie._
   - _Her iron finished stiff, leaving a putt she could barely miss._
26. Of a blow or move, delivered more forcefully than needed, whether on purpose or by accident, causing real pain to the opponent.
   - Simple: Of a hit or move, done too hard, so it really hurts the other person.
   - _The kick was stiff enough to bruise his ribs for a week._
   - _He apologized for the stiff chop after the match ended._
30. Said of an equation that certain numerical methods can solve stably only with an extremely small step size.
   - Simple: Of a math equation, hard for a computer to solve unless it uses very tiny steps.
   - _The chemistry simulation was stiff, forcing tiny time steps for stability._
   - _When a system turns stiff, explicit solvers either crawl or blow up._

## Noun

11. A dead human body; a corpse. *(slang)*
   - Simple: The body of a person who has died.
   - _The coroner's assistant wheeled another stiff into the cold room._
   - _Nobody on the crew wanted the job of identifying the stiff._
17. An ordinary man of no particular distinction, skill, or education. *(slang, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: An ordinary man who has nothing special about his skills or education.
   - _He was happy being a regular stiff with a steady paycheck._
   - _Why would a busy executive listen to some nameless stiff like me?_
18. A commercial failure; something released that flops badly in the market. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A movie, show, or product that fails badly and makes no money.
   - _Critics loved it, but the film was still a stiff with audiences._
   - _After two hits, his third record was an embarrassing stiff._
20. A customer who leaves a server with no tip at all. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: A customer who does not leave any tip for the server.
   - _Table six turned out to be a stiff despite excellent service._
   - _New waiters quickly learn to spot a likely stiff._
21. Someone who walks out without paying the bill, especially at a restaurant. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: A person who walks out of a restaurant without paying the bill.
   - _The manager reviewed the footage to identify the stiff from last night._
   - _A bold stiff slipped out the side door before the check arrived._
22. A person who is deceived, the mark or pigeon targeted in a swindle. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who is fooled and cheated by a con artist.
   - _The grifter sized up the room for a gullible stiff to fleece._
   - _By the time the stiff caught on, his money was long gone._
27. In blackjack, any hard hand that could exceed 21, and so bust, if the player draws an additional card.
   - Simple: In the card game blackjack, a hand that could go over 21 if you take one more card.
   - _She stood on her stiff and hoped the dealer would bust._
   - _Drawing to a stiff feels reckless, but the dealer's upcard often demands it._
28. Negotiable instruments such as checks or money orders, often forged or passed fraudulently. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Checks or money orders, sometimes fake, passed off to get money.
   - _The fraud squad traced a flood of stiff to a single basement print shop._
   - _He made a living moving stiff through small-town stores that rarely checked._
29. A note or letter sent secretly by a prison inmate, passed to evade the guards. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A note that a prisoner sends or passes in secret.
   - _He smuggled a stiff to the next block through a trusted orderly._
   - _The intercepted stiff named everyone involved in the planned escape._

## Verb

12. To fail to pay what one owes someone, especially by leaving in a hurry.
   - Simple: To leave without paying money you owe to someone.
   - _The contractor stiffed his suppliers and vanished overnight._
   - _Guests who stiff small inns can ruin a family's whole season._
13. To leave a smaller tip than is fair, or no tip at all.
   - Simple: To give someone too small a tip, or none at all.
   - _The party of twelve stiffed the server after running her ragged all night._
   - _Riders who stiff their drivers tend to earn poor passenger ratings._
14. To kill someone, especially deliberately. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To kill someone.
   - _They hired a hitman to stiff the informant before the trial._
   - _He stiffed two men and dumped them in the river._
15. To cheat or deceive someone, especially out of money.
   - Simple: To trick someone to get money or goods from them unfairly.
   - _The broker stiffed his clients on the returns he had promised._
   - _Shady vendors stiff tourists who don't know the going rate._
19. To be unsuccessful; to flop, especially in sales or public reception. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To fail or do badly, like a movie that nobody goes to see.
   - _Sequels that ignore their fans usually stiff at the box office._
   - _The play stiffed after just three performances._

## Adverb

23. Hard or forcefully, used of the way the wind blows.
   - Simple: Of the wind, blowing very hard and with great force.
   - _The gale blew stiff against the bow as we cleared the cape._
   - _With the breeze coming stiff from the north, the crossing got rough._

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English "stiff," from Old English "stīf," going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root. It is related to West Frisian "stiif," Dutch "stijf," and German "steif," and also to Latin "stīpes" and "stīpō," the source of English "stevedore."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/stiff (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).