stinger

noun

sting·er | \ ˈstiŋ-ər

Definition of stinger

1 : one that stings specifically : a sharp blow or remark

2 : a sharp organ (as of a bee, scorpion, or stingray) that is usually connected with a poison gland or otherwise adapted to wound by piercing and injecting a poison

3 : a cocktail usually consisting of brandy and white crème de menthe

4 medical : a usually sports-related injury of the brachial plexus marked by a painful burning sensation that radiates from the neck down the arm and is often accompanied by weakness or numbness of the affected area Arrington had missed the second quarter with a concussion and a stinger that left him, momentarily, without feeling in his left arm.— Peter King

— called also burner

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Examples of stinger in a Sentence

the stinger of a bee in the eighth round he delivered a stinger that knocked his opponent flat

Recent Examples on the Web

Strong safety Jaquiski Tartt is day-to-day with a stinger in the same shoulder that’s given him problems recently. . — Joe Stiglich, The Seattle Times, "Shanahan defends 49ers’ handling of troubled LB Foster," 26 Nov. 2018 Thompson sat out the exhibition finale with rib and stinger injuries suffered against Minnesota and was limited in practice Monday. — Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times, "Top 10 things Pete Carroll said Monday: Shaquem Griffin, captains named, injury updates and more," 3 Sep. 2018 The Tiger that showed up on the weekend at Sawgrass, the guy hitting 280-yard stingers on a string and flighting wedges to get to back pins and nipping 40-yard pitch shots off tight lies perfectly, is one of the 30 best players in the world. — Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, "FORE Questions: Did TPC Sawgrass Play Too Easy?," 15 May 2018 In 2017, Richard Sherman (Achilles) and Kam Chancellor (neck stinger) were both injured in Seattle’s win over the Cardinals. — Seattle Times Sports Staff, The Seattle Times, "What the national media are saying about the Seahawks’ win in Arizona that lost them Earl Thomas," 1 Oct. 2018 Then the wasp shoves its stinger through the throat's soft tissues and up into the brain. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Cockroaches deliver karate kicks to avoid being turned into “zombies”," 3 Nov. 2018 Hole 3 - Par 4 Tiger pulls iron from the bag and hits his low-flying stinger shot that finds the right side of the fairway. — Adam Woodard, USA TODAY, "Tiger Tracker: Follow Tiger Woods' Friday round at the Memorial Tournament shot-by-shot," 1 June 2018 Males are born with neither stingers nor an instinct for the hunt, making them essentially mobile sources of sperm. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "Five Real Life Wasp Superpowers Not in Ant-Man and the Wasp," 22 Mar. 2018 The wasp, which scientists named Clistopyga crassicaudata, boasts a stinger that is both longer and wider than those seen on most wasps. — Brett Molina, ajc, "Researchers discover in Amazon region a new wasp species with giant stinger," 9 July 2018

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

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Last Updated

13 Mar 2019

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Time Traveler for stinger

The first known use of stinger was circa 1552

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More Definitions for stinger

stinger

noun

English Language Learners Definition of stinger

chiefly US : a pointed part on an insect and animal that is used to sting someone

See the full definition for stinger in the English Language Learners Dictionary

stinger

noun

sting·er | \ ˈstiŋ-ər

Kids Definition of stinger

: a sharp part of an animal (as a bee or scorpion) that is used to wound and often poison prey or an enemy

stinger

noun

sting·er | \ ˈstiŋ-ər

Medical Definition of stinger

1 : a sharp organ (as of a wasp, bee, scorpion, or stingray) that is usually connected with a poison gland or otherwise adapted to wound by piercing and injecting a poison

2 : a usually sports-related injury of the brachial plexus marked by a painful burning sensation that radiates from the neck down the arm and is often accompanied by weakness or numbness of the affected area

— called also burner