sting

STING/stɪŋ/

Noun pluralstings

17 meanings of sting

1
verbtransitive or intransitive
To hurt someone or something with poison or a sharp point.
Like a tiny needle poking into your skin.
Bees can sting you if they feel scared.
The jellyfish stung him on the arm.
Similarprick, bite, pierce
Note
2
nouncountable
A sharp, sudden pain on the surface of your skin.
Like a quick, sharp pinch on your skin.
I felt a sharp sting on my arm.
The cold wind gave her a sting on her cheeks.
Similarsmart, prick, twinge, prickle, burn
3
nouncountable
A small wound made when a bug stabs your skin and leaves poison.
Like a tiny hole left in your skin by a sharp point.
The sting from the wasp was just a tiny hole, but the poison burned.
The doctor cleaned the bee sting to draw out the poison.
Similarpuncture, prick
4
verbfigurativelyintransitive
To feel a sharp pain, or to feel hurt inside.
Like a small hurt that keeps aching inside.
My eyes sting from the smoke.
The harsh words still sting.
Similarsmart
Note
5
nouncountable
The sharp point on a bug that it uses to hurt you.
Like a tiny needle the insect carries on its body.
A bee uses its sting to protect the hive.
The wasp pulled its sting out and flew away.
Similarstinger
6
verbtransitive
To poke and hurt someone with a sharp point, like a bee does.
Like poking someone with a sharp pin.
A honeybee can sting you only once before it loses its stinger.
The hornet stung her on the neck.
7
nouncountable
A secret police trap where officers pretend to be criminals to catch someone.
Like setting a hidden trap to catch someone.
The police set up a sting to catch the thief.
He was arrested during a sting at the warehouse.
Similarsetup, trap, bust, operation, snare
Note
8
nouncountable
The act of stinging, or the wound it leaves.
Like the quick jab of a needle going in.
The sting of the bee broke the skin.
He felt the sting as the wasp drove in.
Similarjab, prick, stab
Note
9
verbfigurativelytransitive
To cause someone hurt or pain.
Like a hurt that stays with you for a long time.
Her words can sting a person badly.
The insult stung him for days.
Similarhurt, wound, pain, upset
Oppositesoothe, comfort
Note
10
nounfigurativelycountable
The part of something that causes hurt or pain.
Like the worst, most painful part of bad news.
The sting of losing the final match stayed with him for weeks.
Her honest review carried a real sting.
Similarpain, hurt, bite, edge, barb
Note

11
nouncountable
A sore bump left on the skin after an insect or plant stings you.
Like the small red bump that comes up after a mosquito bites you.
The sting on her ankle swelled into a red welt overnight.
He scratched at the wasp sting all afternoon.
Similarwelt, bump, weal, lump
12
nouncountable
A short piece of music used in shows to mark a moment or name the channel.
Like a short jingle that tells you which channel you are watching.
The editor dropped a quick sting between the two news segments.
Each episode opens with the network's signature sting.
Similarcue, jingle, ident
Note
13
nouncountable
A short drum sound that marks the end of a joke.
Like the quick drum beat that tells you a joke just ended.
The drummer hit a quick sting right after the comedian's punchline.
Every one-liner landed with a sharp sting from the kit.
Similarrimshot
14
nouncountable
A sharp, hollow hair on some plants that holds a fluid that hurts your skin.
Like a tiny needle on the plant that pricks and burns your skin.
A single sting on the nettle can break the skin and inject its fluid.
The leaf is covered in tiny stings that release acid when you touch them.
Similarprickle, spine, bristle
Note
15
nouncountable
Something that pushes or drives a person to act.
Like a sharp poke that makes you get moving.
The memory of failure was the sting that drove her to train harder.
Ambition gave him the sting he needed to keep going.
Similarspur, goad, prod, stimulus, incentive
Oppositedeterrent, disincentive
16
nouncountable
The sharp ending that gives a clever or biting saying its punch.
Like the surprise twist at the end of a joke that makes it land.
The whole poem builds toward the sting in its last line.
His short verse saved its sting for the final word.
Similarbarb, punchline, kicker, zinger, twist
17
nouncountable
A rod that holds a test model steady in a wind tunnel, lined up with the moving air.
Like a metal arm that holds a model plane still while wind blows on it.
Engineers mounted the aircraft model on a sting in the center of the tunnel.
The sting held the scale model steady as air rushed past at high speed.
Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 2–3, 5, 7–8, 10–17

From Old English sting, meaning a stab or wound made with something pointed.

Meanings 1, 4, 6, 9

From Old English stingan, going back to Proto-Germanic.