sick

adjective \ ˈsik \

Definition of sick

1 a (1) :affected with disease or ill health :ailing

(2) :of, relating to, or intended for use in sickness

took five sick days this month

a sick ward

b :queasy, nauseated

sick to one's stomach

was sick in the car

c :undergoing menstruation

2 :spiritually or morally unsound or corrupt

3 a :sickened by strong emotion

sick with fear

worried sick

b :having a strong distaste from surfeit :satiated

sick of flattery

c :filled with disgust or chagrin

gossip makes me sick

d :depressed and longing for something

sick for one's home

4 a :mentally or emotionally unsound or disordered :morbid

sick thoughts

b :highly distasteful :macabre, sadistic

sick jokes

a sick crime

5 :lacking vigor :sickly: such as

a :badly outclassed

made the competition look sick

b :incapable of producing profitable yields of a crop

sick soils

6 slang :outstandingly or amazingly good or impressive

Rookie was phenomenal Friday. His goal was nice, but the pass to twin brother, Chris, … was downright sick.
—Roy Lang III

—

sickly

adverb

See sick defined for English-language learners

See sick defined for kids

Examples of sick in a Sentence

He is at home sick in bed.
She is sick with the flu.
I'm too sick to go to work.
The medicine just made me sicker.
The sickest patients are in intensive care.
My poor rosebush looks sick.
She has been on the sick list all week.
The way they treat people makes me sick.

Recent Examples of sick from the Web

Others may have to leave to care for a sick relative.

— ron lieber, charlotteobserver, "Don’t drain your 401(k) (or let a former employer do it)," 19 July 2017
Safety nets The lack of availability of donor milk for sick babies in rural and smaller hospitals is a problem that needs addressing nationally, said Bar-Yam.

— anna claire vollers, AL.com, "Rise in donated breast milk raises questions of fairness across Alabama," 19 July 2017
But critics argue that younger, healthier individuals would opt for the bare-bones plans, which would eventually result in higher premiums for individuals who are sicker or have pre-existing conditions.

— vanityfair.com, "The Republican Health-Care Plan Just Suffered a Major Setback," 17 July 2017
The law also requires the same premium rates for sick and healthy people.

— Time, "These Are the Winners and Losers in the New Republican Health Care Plan," 15 July 2017
The sick people, AHIP said, would face extraordinarily high premiums, or might not be able to find coverage. ‘

— laura litvan, Bloomberg.com, "Republicans Have No Margin for Defections in Senate Health Bill," 13 July 2017
The campaign to make people sick to make rich people wealthier never sleeps.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "The Phony Healthcare 'Compromise' Is Coming," 4 July 2017
Critics argue that younger healthier individuals would rush into the skimpier market, which would result in a spike in premiums for sicker individuals, making the more regulated plans unaffordable.

— abigail tracy, The Hive, "The Republican Plot to Kill Obamacare Isn't as Dead as It Seems," 30 June 2017
Outside of the sick kids who did the shooting, what elements of society can be held responsible for this climate of violence that, after numerous other similar incidents, has reached critical mass out there in Colorado?

— mark jacobson, Daily Intelligencer, "The Generation Gap in My Living Room," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sick.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sick

Middle English sek, sik, from Old English sēoc; akin to Old High German sioh sick

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

sick Synonyms

Synonyms

ailing, bad, down, ill, indisposed, peaked, peaky, poorly, punk, run-down, sickened, unhealthy, unsound, unwell, out of sorts, under the weather

Antonyms

hale, healthful, healthy, sound, well, whole, wholesome

Related Words

symptomatic; cruddy, lousy, seedy, sickish; nauseated, nauseous, qualmish, queasy (also queazy), squeamish; airsick, carsick, seasick; dizzy, light-headed, shaky, woozy; achy, feverish; diseased, disordered; decrepit, feeble, fragile, frail, infirm, invalid, sickly, weak, weakly; afflicted, troubled; challenged, debilitated, disabled, halt, incapacitated, lame; hypochondriac, hypochondriacal

Near Antonyms

able-bodied, conditioned, fit, well-conditioned; cured; better, convalescing, improved, mending, recovering, recuperating, rehabilitated; hardy, hearty, lusty, robust, rugged, stalwart, strong, tough; blooming, bouncing, chipper, flourishing, flush, thriving

sick

noun

Definition of sick

British

:vomit 1

See sick defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of sick from the Web

Mitzvah clowns have a tradition of getting dressed up wildly and bringing happiness to senior homes and children's hospitals to fulfill the Jewish mitzvah (commandment) of bikur cholim (visiting the sick).

— randall p. lieberman, Jewish Journal, "Group follows Jewish tradition of clowning," 11 Aug. 2017
Eisner has a friend of a friend who once called in sick to catch up on the show.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Spoiler alert: Not all of your co-workers are into 'Game of Thrones'," 7 Aug. 2017
Eisner has a friend of a friend who once called in sick to catch up on the show.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Spoiler alert: Not all of your co-workers are into 'Game of Thrones'," 7 Aug. 2017
Eisner has a friend of a friend who once called in sick to catch up on the show.

— maia silber, sacbee, "Don’t watch ‘Game of Thrones’? Mondays at the office can get pretty annoying," 6 Aug. 2017
That provision, the insurers said, would split the market between the healthy and the sick, driving up costs for people with preexisting conditions.

— chad terhune, Kaiser Health News, "Obamacare Exchanges In Limbo," 19 July 2017
Anyone who feels sick is urged by health officials to contact their healthcare provider before going directly to a healthcare facility.

— travis fedschun, Fox News, "Person with measles visited popular New Hampshire beach, officials say," 18 July 2017
The judge had seen it in Bishop from the start, on May 21, 2015, when the young woman appeared at the courthouse three days in a row, sick from withdrawal and begging for help.

— terry demio, Cincinnati.com, "She found a 'family' in court, along with a path from bondage and to recovery," 3 July 2017
Women, children, the mentally ill, the homeless and the sick are all affected, Fonger said.

— gloria casas, Elgin Courier-News, "Agencies helping developmentally disabled hurt by state budget impasse," 30 June 2017

First Known Use of sick

1957

SICK Defined for English Language Learners

sick

adjective

Definition of sick for English Language Learners

: affected with a disease or illness
: of or relating to people who are ill
: very annoyed or bored by something because you have had too much of it

SICK Defined for Kids

sick

adjective \ ˈsik \

Definition of sick for Students

sicker; sickest

1 :affected with disease or illness :not well

2 :of, relating to, or intended for use in or during illness

sick pay

3 :affected with or accompanied by nausea

The bobbing of the boat made me feel sick.

4 :badly upset by strong emotion

I was sick with worry.

5 :annoyed or bored of something from having too much of it

We were sick of his whining.

6 :filled with disgust or anger

Such gossip makes me sick.

Medical Dictionary

sick

adjective \ ˈsik \

medical Definition of sick

1 a :affected with disease or ill health

b :of, relating to, or intended for use in sickness

a sick ward

c :affected with nausea :inclined to vomit or being in the act of vomiting

sick to one's stomach

was sick in the car

2 :mentally or emotionally unsound or disordered

Learn More about sick

See words that rhyme with sick Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sick Spanish Central: Translation of sick Nglish: Translation of sick for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sick for Arabic speakers

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sick

Definition of sick

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Examples of sick in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of sick

sick Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

sick

Definition of sick

Recent Examples of sick from the Web

First Known Use of sick

SICK Defined for English Language Learners

sick

Definition of sick for English Language Learners

SICK Defined for Kids

sick

Definition of sick for Students

Medical Dictionary

sick

medical Definition of sick

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