Sekirov Dictionary

stiff

/stɪf/

adjective 15
noun 9
verb 5
adverb 2
forms 7
phrases 4

adjective15

•
holding its shape so well that strong pressure is needed to change it
- You have discovered the corpse of Captain Willem of the MSV Majesty. His stiff fingers are wrapped tightly around a small datapad. — 2008
•
Painful or more rigid than usual as a result of excessive or unaccustomed exercise.
- My legs are stiff after climbing that hill yesterday.
(figurative) Inflexible; rigid.
•
Harsh, severe.
- He was eventually caught, and given a stiff fine.
•
Potent.
- [Badminton] was popular in India because of the climate, where it was played outdoors, but in England the stiff breezes made it impossible to play without heavily loaded shuttlecocks. — 1971
Delivered more forcefully than needed, whether intentionally or accidentally, thus causing legitimate pain to the opponent.
Formal in behavior; unrelaxed.
•
Having a dense consistency; thick; (by extension) Difficult to stir.
- Adding too much peanut butter to your Peanut Sauce recipe may cause your sauce to turn out too stiff.
•
Beaten until so aerated that they stand up straight on their own.
- beat the egg whites until they are stiff
(informal) Dead, deceased.
•
(informal) Expensive, pricey.
- He had the practised face of a dealer also. But he was a Jew and chaffering was in his blood, and he said, "A bit stiff, isn't it? I mean without a guarantee that it's by the original maker?" — 1950
Keeping upright.
(slang) Erect.
•
Of a shot, landing so close to the flagstick that it should be very easy to sink the ball with the next shot.
- I go all out, go for the long ball, the stiff shots to the pin, aim for the back of the cup. — 1968
Of an equation, for which certain numerical solving methods are numerically unstable, unless the step size is taken to be extremely small.

noun9

(slang) A cadaver; a dead person.
(US, slang) An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education.
•
(slang) A flop; a commercial failure.
- They never did sell any records. I don't mean they didn't sell 100,000. I mean they didn't sell 5000. Total. National. Coast-to-coast. The record was a stiff. — 2016
(US, slang) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
(US, slang) A customer who does not leave a tip.
•
(slang) A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.
- She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.
Any hard hand where it is possible to exceed 21 by drawing an additional card.
(slang) A note or letter surreptitiously sent by an inmate.
(slang) Negotiable instruments, possibly forged.

verb5

•
To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.
- He stiffed me on the tip.
- Realizing he had forgotten his wallet, he stiffed the taxi driver when the cab stopped for a red light.
•
To cheat someone.
- You see, poor Nonie really was stiffed by Adolph in his will. He really stiffed her, Rose, and I really wanted to right that wrong. — 1992
•
To tip ungenerously.
- Then he stiffed the waiter with a cheap tip. — 2007
•
(informal) To be unsuccessful.
- "Come To Me" moved but a few to buy a copy; "My Queen" stiffed in the stall. — 1990
•
(slang) To kill.
- But you know it could be a hassle / Trying to explain myself to a police officer / About how it was your old lady got herself stiffed — 1978

adverb2

•
Of the wind, with great force; strongly.
- At Feversham was a very High Tide in the Afternoon, tho' the Wind was Southerly, and blew very stiff, which the Seamen there wondered at. — 1731
•
(slang, old-fashioned) Very thoroughly.
- Now I want you to take Vallett in hand and drill him stiff with everything that has to do with Tilehurst and Tapsfield. — 1934

forms

stiffed · stiffing · stiffs · more stiff · stiffer · most stiff · stiffest

Phrases with stiff

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