stiff

1 of 5

adjective

ˈstif 

1

a

: not easily bent : rigid

a stiff collar

b

: lacking in suppleness or flexibility

stiff muscles

a stiff neck

c

: impeded in movement

—used of a mechanism

a truck's stiff suspension

d

: drunk sense 1a

2

a

: firm, resolute

b

: stubborn, unyielding

He is a man of that kind, —so stiff and stubborn …

—Anthony Trollope

c

: proud

d(1)

: marked by reserve or decorum

the host's stiff manner

a stiff and formal party

(2)

: lacking in ease or grace : stilted

stiff writing/dialogue

3

: hard fought

stiff competition

4

a(1)

: exerting great force

a stiff wind

(2)

: forceful, vigorous

b

: potent

poured her a stiff drink

5

: of a dense or glutinous consistency : thick

6

a

: harsh, severe

a stiff penalty

b

: arduous, rugged

stiff terrain

7

: not easily heeled over by an external force (such as the wind)

a stiff ship

8

: expensive, steep

paid a stiff price

stiffish

ˈsti-fish 

adjective

stiffly adverb

stiffness noun

stiff

2 of 5

adverb

1

: in a stiff manner : stiffly

2

: to an extreme degree : severely

scared stiff

bored stiff

3

: close enough to the hole for an easy putt in golf

hit it stiff and tapped it in for an easy birdie

stiff

3 of 5

noun (1)

1

: corpse

2

a

: vagrant, tramp

b

: a member of the working class

especially : a blue-collar worker

a working stiff

c

: person

a lucky stiff

especially : a stodgy or excessively decorous person

3

: flop, failure

stiff

4 of 5

verb

stiffed; stiffing; stiffs

transitive verb

1

a

: to refuse to pay or tip

stiffed the waiter

b

: cheat

stiffed him in a business deal

c

: stick sense 7a

stiffed us with the bar bill

2

: snub sense 3

stiffed sportswriters after the game

intransitive verb

: to fail commercially

the movie stiffed at the box office

stiffness

5 of 5

noun (2)

stiff·​ness

plural -es

1

a

: density, rigidity

14 kinds of varnish each differing in stiffness

—F. W. Hoch

toothbrushes vary in the stiffness of their bristles

b

: resistance (as of a structural beam) to bending under stresses within the elastic limit

—opposed to compliance compare deflection sense 3a

c

: resistance of a ship to rolling : stability

2

a

: lack of suppleness : inflexibility

pains in the limbs and growing stiffness, finally, paralysis

—Monsanto Magazine

b

: firmness of attitude : resolution, obduracy

unyielding stiffness of will

—O. J. Baab

c

: lack of ease or grace : punctilious conduct : formality, constraint

the stiffness of conventional opera

—Arthur Knight

had given up his stiffness and begun to laugh

—Vicki Baum

Synonyms of stiff

Adjective

• rigid
• stiffened
• solid
• brittle
• strong

Noun (1)

• corpse
• remains

Verb

• cut
• isolate
• slight
• reject
• cold-shoulder
• snub
• repulse
• repel
• stiff-arm
• high-hat

Choose the Right Synonym for stiff

stiff, rigid, inflexible mean difficult to bend.

stiff may apply to any degree of this condition.

stretching keeps your muscles from becoming stiff

rigid applies to something so stiff that it cannot be bent without breaking.

a rigid surfboard

inflexible stresses lack of suppleness or pliability.

ski boots with inflexible soles

Examples of stiff in a Sentence

Adjective

When I got out of bed this morning my back was stiff as a board.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.

Noun (1)

That poor stiff never gets a break.

They have the kind of luxuries the average working stiff can't afford.

Verb

the actress has a reputation for stiffing the press at red-carpet events

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The company also faces stiff competition from Anthropic and OpenAI, whose chatbots have been more widely adopted by consumers and enterprise customers than xAI’s Grok. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 June 2026

With every wear, the stiff leather softens while the cork and latex footbed molds to your feet to create custom support. —Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 12 June 2026

Adverb

Smith-Njigba jumped into blocking mode but was stiff-armed by Stingley as the two stumbled onto the Texans’ sideline. —Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025

In the 2021 film, Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) stars as Hutch Mansell, a by-the-numbers working stiff who harbors a secret past as an off-the-books government assassin. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025

Noun

Wainwright’s home out East is one of the 200 or so Leisurama homes that Geller designed for working stiffs on Long Island, which may draw a few architecture buffs, and there is a sauna, hot tub, deck, beach access, and a garage with a separate studio apartment with a full bathroom. —Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 15 June 2026

Advertisement Not every variety-show booking delighted every viewer (just ask the stiffs who hyperventilated when Elvis wiggled his hips on Sullivan’s stage), but there was enough, most nights, to captivate tens of millions of them. —Judy Berman, Time, 22 May 2026

Verb

Testers noted how plush or stiff the mattress felt after consistent sleep on the mattresses, from a boxed memory foam to a hybrid bed. —Kristi Kellogg, Architectural Digest, 19 May 2026

All of which brings us to a basic conclusion: implicit in their support for the IFPA’s implementation, Illinois business owners are making explicit their desire to stiff their workers. —John Tamny, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English stif, from Old English stīf; akin to Middle Dutch stijf stiff, Latin stipare to press together, Greek steibein to tread on

Noun (2)

Middle English stifnesse, from stif, adjective, stiff + -nesse -ness

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

circa 1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1950, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing stiff

• as stiff as a board
• bindle stiff
• frozen stiff
• lucky stiff
• scared stiff
• stiff-arm
• stiff drink
• stiff-necked
• stiff upper lip

Rhymes for stiff

• biff
• cliff
• diff
• glyph
• griff
• if
• riff
• schiff
• skiff
• sniff
• tiff
• whiff

Kids Definition

stiff

1 of 3 adjective

ˈstif 

1

a

: not easily bent : rigid

b

: not easily moved

stiff muscles

stiff valves

2

a

: marked by moral courage

b

: not easy or graceful in manner

3

: hard fought

a stiff fight

4

a

: exerting great force : strong

a stiff wind

b

: potent sense 2b

a stiff dose

5

: not flowing easily : thick

beat egg whites until stiff

6

a

: harsh sense 3, severe

a stiff penalty

b

: rugged

stiff terrain

7

: expensive sense 2, steep

a stiff price

stiffly adverb

stiffness noun

stiff

2 of 3 adverb

1

: in a stiff manner

2

: to a stiff state or condition

frozen stiff

3

: to an extreme degree

bored stiff

stiff

3 of 3 noun

1

: corpse

2

: person

you lucky stiff

Medical Definition

stiff

adjective

ˈstif 

: lacking in suppleness

stiff muscles

stiffness noun