sic

verb

ˈsik 

variants or less commonly sick

sicced also sicked ˈsikt  ; siccing also sicking

transitive verb

1

: chase, attack

—usually used as a command especially to a dog

sic 'em

2

: to incite or urge to an attack, pursuit, or harassment : set

sicced their lawyers on me

Did you know?

The adverb sic, usually enclosed in brackets, is a word editors use in the reproduction of someone else's speech or writing to indicate that an unexpected form exactly reproduces the original and is not a copier's mistake. Sic comes from Latin, in which it means "so" or "thus." Though it's a useful tool, some usage commentators feel it is bad manners to use a sic to needlessly call attention to someone's error or to deride the language of a less-educated person.

Synonyms of sic

• attack
• assault
• raid
• storm
• strike
• rob
• ambush

Examples of sic in a Sentence

commanded the attack dogs to "sic 'em"

Recent Examples on the Web

Travel has been steep do (sic) to last minute airfares this time. —Jessica Seaman, Denver Post, 17 May 2026

Who trades their future away for Ivan [sic] Zubac??? —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026

Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been calculating (sic) on social media for years now. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2026

The people that have been killed, the people that have wiped away [sic], and for what? —Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

alteration of seek

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing sic

• sic passim
• sic (something) on (someone or something)

Rhymes for sic

• bick
• brick
• chick
• click
• fick
• flick
• hick
• kick
• knick
• lick
• mic
• nick

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