sting

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See also: STing

English[edit]

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A wasp sting--a pointed portion of an insect

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English sting, stinge, stenge, from Old English sting, stinċġ (“a sting, stab, thrust made with a pointed instrument; the wound made by a stab or sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stingiz.

Noun[edit]

sting (plural stings)

Sample of a sting
A sample recording of the performance of a sting.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
  1. A bump left on the skin after having been stung.
  2. A bite by an insect.
  3. A pointed portion of an insect or arachnid used for attack.
  4. A sharp, localised pain primarily on the epidermis
  5. (botany) A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secretes an acrid fluid, as in nettles.
  6. The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging.
    • Shakespeare
      the lurking serpent's mortal sting
  7. (law enforcement) A police operation in which the police pretend to be criminals in order to catch a criminal.
  8. A short percussive phrase played by a drummer to accent the punchline in a comedy show.
  9. A brief sequence of music used in films, TV, and video games as a form of punctuation in a dramatic or comedic scene.
  10. A support for a wind tunnel model which extends parallel to the air flow.
    • 2001, T. J. Mueller, Fixed and Flapping Wing Aerodynamics for Micro Air Vehicle Applications:
      The balance is mounted externally on top of the wind tunnel test section. A sting connects the balance to the model.
  11. (figuratively) The harmful or painful part of something.
    • Bible, 1 Corinthians xv. 56
      The sting of death is sin.
    • 2011 January 19, Jonathan Stevenson, “Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal”, in BBC‎[1]:
      Just as it appeared Arsenal had taken the sting out of the tie, Johnson produced a moment of outrageous quality, thundering a bullet of a left foot shot out of the blue and into the top left-hand corner of Wojciech Szczesny's net with the Pole grasping at thin air.
  12. A goad; incitement.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  13. The point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying.
Synonyms[edit]
  • (pointed portion of an insect): stinger
Translations[edit]
pointed portion of an insect or arachnid used for attack — see stinger
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English stingen, from Old English stingan, from Proto-Germanic *stinganą. Compare Swedish and Icelandic stinga.

Verb[edit]

sting (third-person singular simple present stings, present participle stinging, simple past stung or (rare, dialectal) stang, past participle stung)

  1. (transitive) To hurt, usually by introducing poison or a sharp point, or both.
    Right so came out an adder of a little heathbush, and it stung a knight in the foot.
    Still, it stung when a slightly older acquaintance asked me why I couldn't do any better.
  2. (transitive, of an insect) To bite.
  3. (intransitive, sometimes figurative) To hurt, to be in pain.
    My hand stings after knocking on the door so long.
    • 2011 January 11, Jonathan Stevenson, “West Ham 2 - 1 Birmingham”, in BBC‎[2]:
      But Birmingham were clearly stung by some harsh words from manager Alex McLeish at the break and within 15 minutes of the restart the game had an entirely different complexion.
  4. (figuratively) To cause harm or pain to.
    I thought I could park in front of the hotel, but they stung me for five pounds!
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Anagrams[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the verb stinge

Noun[edit]

sting n (definite singular stinget, indefinite plural sting, definite plural stinga or stingene)

  1. a stitch (in sewing and surgery)
  2. stitch (pain in the side)

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the verb stinge

Noun[edit]

sting m (definite singular stingen, indefinite plural stingar or stinger, definite plural stingane or stingene)

  1. stitch (pain in the side)

sting n (definite singular stinget, indefinite plural sting, definite plural stinga)

  1. a stitch (in sewing and surgery)

References[edit]

Old English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From stingan.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

sting m

  1. sting, stinging (of an animal)

Romanian[edit]

Verb[edit]

sting

  1. first-person singular present indicative of stinge.
  2. first-person singular present subjunctive of stinge.
  3. third-person plural present indicative of stinge.

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

sting

  1. imperative of stinga.
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