# sting

Pronunciation: say "STING" /stɪŋ/

## Verb

1. To cause pain by piercing the skin, usually with a sharp point, poison, or both.
   - Simple: To hurt someone or something with poison or a sharp point.
   - _Wasps will sting if you disturb their nest._
   - _The nettles stung her bare legs as she walked through the field._
4. To feel pain, whether in the body or in one's feelings.
   - Simple: To feel a sharp pain, or to feel hurt inside.
   - _Cuts like that sting for hours._
   - _The criticism stung more than she expected._
6. To pierce someone or something with a stinger.
   - Simple: To poke and hurt someone with a sharp point, like a bee does.
   - _A frightened wasp will sting anyone who comes too close._
   - _The scorpion stung him twice before he could move away._
9. To cause harm or pain to someone.
   - Simple: To cause someone hurt or pain.
   - _Defeats like that sting even the most experienced teams._
   - _The harsh review stung the young author deeply._

## Noun

2. A sharp, localized pain felt mainly on the surface of the skin.
   - Simple: A sharp, sudden pain on the surface of your skin.
   - _She felt a sudden sting where the branch had scratched her._
   - _The antiseptic left a brief sting on the open cut._
3. A puncture wound made by an insect or arachnid in an attack, usually injecting venom.
   - Simple: A small wound made when a bug stabs your skin and leaves poison.
   - _The sting was no deeper than a pinprick, yet the venom soon made it throb._
   - _Doctors treated the scorpion sting before the venom could spread._
5. The sharp, pointed part of an insect or arachnid used to attack.
   - Simple: The sharp point on a bug that it uses to hurt you.
   - _The bee left its sting embedded in the wound._
   - _A scorpion arches its tail to bring the sting forward._
7. A police operation in which officers pretend to take part in crime in order to catch a criminal.
   - Simple: A secret police trap where officers pretend to be criminals to catch someone.
   - _Undercover officers ran a sting to trap the smugglers._
   - _The drug dealer was caught in a sting late last night._
8. The driving of a stinger into flesh, the act of stinging, or the wound that stinging leaves.
   - Simple: The act of stinging, or the wound it leaves.
   - _The sting of the scorpion drove venom deep into the muscle._
   - _Each sting of the wasp left a painful puncture along his arm._
10. The element of something that wounds or causes pain or harm.
   - Simple: The part of something that causes hurt or pain.
   - _Time eventually took the sting out of her grief._
   - _There was a quiet sting hidden in his polite refusal._
11. A raised bump left on the skin after being stung.
   - Simple: A sore bump left on the skin after an insect or plant stings you.
   - _A pale sting marked the spot where the bee had jabbed him._
   - _By morning the stings on her arm had turned itchy and pink._
12. A brief sequence of music used in films, TV, and video games to punctuate a scene or identify the broadcasting station.
   - Simple: A short piece of music used in shows to mark a moment or name the channel.
   - _A tense sting plays whenever the villain appears on screen._
   - _The game rewards each victory with a triumphant sting._
13. A brief percussive flourish a drummer plays to punctuate the punchline in a comedy act.
   - Simple: A short drum sound that marks the end of a joke.
   - _He timed the sting perfectly so it crashed in on the final word._
   - _A well-placed sting can make a weak joke get a laugh._
14. A stiff, hollow, sharp-pointed hair growing from a gland that releases an irritant fluid, as on a nettle.
   - Simple: A sharp, hollow hair on some plants that holds a fluid that hurts your skin.
   - _Brush against the plant and one sting is enough to leave your hand burning._
   - _Under the microscope, each sting looks like a fine glassy spike._
15. Something that goads or incites; a spur driving a person to action.
   - Simple: Something that pushes or drives a person to act.
   - _Wounded pride proved a stronger sting than any reward._
   - _Her rival's success was the sting that pushed her back to work._
16. The concluding point that gives an epigram or other sarcastic saying its bite.
   - Simple: The sharp ending that gives a clever or biting saying its punch.
   - _Every couplet she wrote built toward a single, well-aimed sting._
   - _The compliment seemed sincere until the sting in the closing remark._
17. A mounting that holds a test model in a wind tunnel and extends in the same direction as the airflow.
   - Simple: A rod that holds a test model steady in a wind tunnel, lined up with the moving air.
   - _The team adjusted the sting to set the model at a steeper angle of attack._
   - _A slender sting kept the wing model aligned with the oncoming stream._

## Origin

**Meanings 2–3, 5, 7–8, 10–17** — From Middle English sting, from Old English sting, meaning a stab or thrust made with a pointed instrument, or the wound it makes. It goes back to Proto-Germanic *stingaz, and possibly also to Old English stynġ from Proto-Germanic *stungiz.
**Meanings 1, 4, 6, 9** — From Middle English stingen, from Old English stingan, from Proto-Germanic *stinganą, related to Swedish and Icelandic stinga.

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