sting

verb \ ˈstiŋ \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: sting in a Sentence

Definition of sting

stung play \ˈstəŋ\; stinging play \ˈstiŋ-iŋ\

transitive verb

1 : to prick painfully: such as

a : to pierce or wound with a poisonous or irritating process

b : to affect with sharp quick pain or smart

hail stung their faces

2 : to cause to suffer acutely

stung with remorse

3 : overcharge, cheat

intransitive verb

1 : to wound one with or as if with a sting

2 : to feel a keen burning pain or smart; also : to cause such pain

—

stingingly

play \ˈstiŋ-iŋ-lē\ adverb

See sting defined for English-language learners

See sting defined for kids

Examples of sting in a Sentence

I got stung by a bee.
The jellyfish stung the swimmer.
The bees will sting if you bother them.
The iodine will sting for a few minutes.
The cold rain stung my eyes.
The smoke made our eyes sting.
She was stung by their harsh criticism.

Recent Examples of sting from the Web

But if my loving parents observed my lack of grace onstage, that meant my teacher, my classmates, and the entire audience at our ballet recital definitely noticed, and that stung a bit.

— emily perper, Longreads, "On Pointe: Reading on Ballet," 23 May 2018
Andrew Brown leads the pitching and Nate Rising stings the ball for Seven Hills.

— scott springer, Cincinnati.com, "Which Greater Cincinnati baseball teams will continue in the state tournament?," 11 May 2018
The finish and his 0-of-4 shooting on 3-pointers stung.

— cleveland.com, "Jayson Tatum, Celtics stymie Sixers' process in five: 2018 NBA Playoffs rewind," 10 May 2018
One guy who is learning a new system on a new team that had an awful lot of change and tasks to complete after a rough 2017 campaign that featured a number of offensive struggles and misses that stung against every opponent with eight wins or more.

— nick baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "Shea Patterson is one guy; Michigan football needs more than that," 2 May 2018
By the time Happy Baby rolls around, my eyes are usually stinging with super salty sweat.

— rachel jacoby zoldan, SELF, "The Only Headband That Actually Keeps Sweat Out of My Face During Workouts," 18 May 2018
During his senior year of high school, Reaves woke up one morning with a stinging pain in his back.

— jeff mclane, Philly.com, "The safety in numbers could be Eagles undrafted rookie Jeremy Reaves," 11 May 2018
He's been swarmed by stinging ants, bitten by a gila monster, slimed by a giant eel and eaten parasites.

— detroit free press staff, Detroit Free Press, "YouTube star Coyote Peterson brings Brave Wilderness tour to Royal Oak," 12 Apr. 2018
Many more people are seriously injured or killed by stinging insects.

— author: rick sinnott | opinion, Anchorage Daily News, "Bears, bikes and avoiding unnecessary togetherness on Anchorage trails," 31 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of sting

Middle English, from Old English stingan; akin to Old Norse stinga to sting and probably to Greek stachys spike of grain, stochos target, aim

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

sting Synonyms

sting

noun

Definition of sting

1 a : the act of stinging; specifically : the thrust of a stinger into the flesh

b : a wound or pain caused by or as if by stinging

2 : stinger 2

3 : a sharp or stinging element, force, or quality

4 : an elaborate confidence game; specifically : such a game worked by undercover police in order to trap criminals

See sting defined for English-language learners

Examples of sting in a Sentence

When you get the shot, you'll feel a little sting.
His arm was covered with bee stings.
They were caught in a drug sting.
a sting operation by police

Recent Examples of sting from the Web

The sting of the play lessened through the decades, especially once Cannon developed a friendship with Gibbs and his teammates.

— ron higgins, NOLA.com, "Rivals who became friends mourn the loss of LSU's Billy Cannon," 23 May 2018
On September 15, 2017, a few days prior to Dawkins’s sting, Blazer had pleaded guilty to securities fraud, aggravated identity theft, making false statements and documents and two counts of wire fraud.

— jake fischer and jon wertheim, SI.com, "Could a Rogue FBI Agent Derail the NCAA Corruption Probe?," 23 May 2018
Even in conceding goals, which stemmed from counter attacks after pushing players forward, there weren't fears the club’s attacking venom would lose its sting.

— charlie hatch, Cincinnati.com, "FC Cincinnati may embrace its first-place status, but it's not resting on any laurels," 11 May 2018
EpiPens are common auto-injectors typically used to counter allergic reactions to certain foods, such as nuts, bee or insect stings, or anaphylactic shock, a potentially life-threatening reaction to a foreign substance.

— kevin mccoy, USA TODAY, "U.S. consumers face some EpiPen shortages, Food and Drug Administration says," 10 May 2018
Their sting is no more potent than that of other honey bees.

— weldon b. johnson, azcentral, "Killer bees DO want to sting you. Know these Africanized-bee safety tips.," 17 Mar. 2018
The timing of the move, which was expected, carries a sting for China: President Xi Jinping’s top economic emissary is in Washington this week for meetings to ease tensions between the world's two biggest economies.

— Bloomberg.com, "+1 212 318 2000," 1 Mar. 2018
Their stings, which come from microscopic spears, are produced by the fastest known motion in the animal world.

— nancy lord, Anchorage Daily News, "Fascinating jellyfish science told as a personal journey," 24 Feb. 2018
Police set up a sting in which the woman recorded herself confronting Weinstein and him apologizing for his conduct.

— CBS News, "Harvey Weinstein indicted on rape charges by New York grand jury," 30 May 2018

First Known Use of sting

before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

sting Synonyms

Synonyms

ache, pain, pang, prick, shoot, smart, stitch, throe, tingle, twinge;

Near Antonyms

comfort, ease, easiness;

affliction, agony, anguish, misery, sufferance, suffering, torment, torture;

inflammation, sore, swelling;

damage, detriment, harm, hurt, injury;

backache, bellyache, charley horse, colic, complaint, earache, gripe, headache, stomachache, toothache;

Other Insect Terms

drone, entomology, gadfly, pismire, proboscis, vespine

STING Defined for English Language Learners

sting

verb

Definition of sting for English Language Learners

of an insect, plant, or animal : to hurt (someone) by piercing the skin with a sharp, pointed part that usually contains poison
: to cause a quick, sharp pain
: to feel a quick sharp pain

sting

noun

Definition of sting for English Language Learners

: a quick, sharp pain
: an injury caused when an insect or animal stings you
: a complicated and clever plan that is meant to deceive someone especially in order to catch criminals

STING Defined for Kids

sting

verb \ ˈstiŋ \

Definition of sting for Students

stung \ˈstəŋ\; stinging

1 : to prick painfully usually with a sharp or poisonous stinger

A bee stung my hand.

2 : to suffer or affect with sharp quick burning pain

Hail stung their faces.

3 : to hurt emotionally

She was stung by the harsh criticism.

sting

noun

Definition of sting for Students

1 : an act of pricking painfully usually with a sharp or poisonous stinger

a bee's sting

2 : a wound or burning pain caused by the pricking of the skin with a stinger

the sting of a bitter wind

3 : emotional pain

the sting of criticism

4 : stinger

Medical Dictionary

sting

verb \ ˈstiŋ \

medical Definition of sting

stung play \ˈstəŋ\; stinging play \ˈstiŋ-iŋ\

transitive verb

: to prick painfully: as

a : to pierce or wound with a poisonous or irritating process

b : to affect with sharp quick pain

intransitive verb

: to feel or cause a keen burning pain or smart

the injection stung

sting

noun

medical Definition of sting

1 a : the act of stinging; specifically : the thrust of a stinger into the flesh

b : a wound or pain caused by or as if by stinging

2 : stinger 1

Law Dictionary

sting

noun

legal Definition of sting

: an elaborate confidence game; specifically : such a game worked by undercover police in order to catch criminals

Learn More about sting

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

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sting

Definition of sting

stingingly

Examples of sting in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sting from the Web

Origin and Etymology of sting

sting Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

sting

Definition of sting

Examples of sting in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sting from the Web

First Known Use of sting

sting Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Insect Terms

Phrases Related to STING

Related Phrases

STING Defined for English Language Learners

sting

Definition of sting for English Language Learners

sting

Definition of sting for English Language Learners

STING Defined for Kids

sting

Definition of sting for Students

sting

Definition of sting for Students

Medical Dictionary

sting

medical Definition of sting

sting

medical Definition of sting

Law Dictionary

sting

legal Definition of sting

Learn More about sting

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