stick out

verb

stuck out; sticking out; sticks out

intransitive verb

1

a

: to jut out : project

ears that stick out

b

: to be prominent or conspicuous

stuck out in an orange vest

2

British, informal : to be persistent (as in a demand or an opinion)

transitive verb

1

: extend (as a body part) outward

stick out your tongue

2

: endure, last entry 1

—often used with it

stuck it out to the end

Synonyms of stick out

• protrude
• poke
• stand out
• bulge

Examples of stick out in a Sentence

no feet sticking out in the aisles, please

managed to stick out the whole race despite her bad knee

Recent Examples on the Web

Certain movies just really stick out. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026

Reid writhes in front of Zaman, sticking out his tongue in one take, running his hand down his body in another, all while a gigantic technocrane zooms overhead. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 2 June 2026

The three areas for me that really stick out going into this final series are defensive-zone coverage, forecheck and special teams. —Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 1 June 2026

Despite the president weighing in, Republicans are sticking out the brutal primary to the end. —Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 1 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1640, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Rhymes for stick out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout

Kids Definition

stick out

verb

1

a

: to extend out : project

b

: to be noticeable

you will certainly stick out with that red hat and coat

2

: to put up with : endure

stuck it out to the bitter end