sting

verb \ ˈstiŋ \

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 \-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

Stinging caterpillars do not actively try to sting predators; but when they are touched, their hairy setae break off on the attacker and the poison is released.

— jefferson county cooperative extension, AL.com, "Stinging caterpillars (Garden Talk)," 22 Aug. 2017
The lack of women stung, especially because the series is focused largely on Strong Female Character Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), a feminist role model who is both a cool, intelligent F.B.I. agent and a medical doctor, dammit.

— yohana desta, vanityfair.com, "So the X-Files Revival Hired Female Writers and Directors After All," 8 Aug. 2017
In contrast, the morning of March 14 featured strong winds with 29 degrees that whipped sleet under my umbrella, stinging my face.

— kevin ambrose, Washington Post, "A tale of two nor’easters: Comparing March 14 and July 29 at the Tidal Basin (Photos)," 31 July 2017
Elam acknowledged McElroy’s comments, which came during a SEC Network television segment previewing UK’s session at media days, stung.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "Matt Elam not 'sitting around and crying' about Greg McElroy's criticism," 30 July 2017
The display was set up to let visitors see what goes on inside a hive without fear of being stung.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "County fair a throwback to DuPage's agricultural past," 28 July 2017
The Chinese are naive, say some, and will end up getting stung by Pakistan’s generals just as the Americans did.

— The Economist, "One Lifebelt, One RoadChina makes Pakistan an offer it cannot refuse," 22 July 2017
Along with hair, waxing takes off protective skin cells, causing sand and salt water to seriously sting.

— loni venti, Cosmopolitan, "Everything You Need to Know Before Getting a Brazilian Wax," 17 July 2017
PHOTOS: From coast to coast, American retailers, stung by the rise of online shopping, are abandoning brick-and-mortar stores, annoucning closing after closing.

— james f. peltz, chicagotribune.com, "How Best Buy rebounded to avoid becoming another retail casualty," 17 July 2017

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

See Words from the same year

sting Synonyms

Synonyms

gouge, soak, overcharge, surcharge

Antonyms

undercharge

Related Words

cheat, defraud, stick; clip, fleece, skin; mischarge

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 juiciness of fresh tomato, the briny bite of a pickle spear, the umami of celery salt and the sharp sting of sport peppers all help make the Chicago dog a supreme creation, a whole truly greater than the sum of its parts.

— phil vettel, chicagotribune.com, "A Chicago hot dog ain’t right without a poppy seed bun. But why?," 23 Aug. 2017
Long, a University of Pennsylvania recruit, should also somewhat lessen the sting of losing last season’s co-league MVP, Patrick McGettigan, now a freshman linebacker at Penn.

— aaron carter, Philly.com, "Germantown Academy 2017 football preview," 21 Aug. 2017
Adrian Apodaca faces six charges stemming from the FBI sting that ended in October when he was arrested after driving to Georgia to kill a man in exchange for $5,000 and fake identification, according to the complaint.

— carli teproff, miamiherald, "Trial to begin for self-proclaimed white supremacist in murder-for-hire plot," 20 Aug. 2017
Last September, a House panel grilled Mylan CEO Heather Bresch about the skyrocketing cost of the devices, which patients inject in the thigh to stop a runaway allergic reaction to foods such as nuts and eggs or insect bites and stings.

— Washington Post, "EpiPen maker finalizes settlement for government overcharges," 17 Aug. 2017
This lowered the temperature and took the sting out of debate.

— richard m. langworth, National Review, "How Would Churchill Tweet?," 12 Aug. 2017
But the sting of another damaging legal case had shown just how much work Deutsche Bank still had to do.

— edward robinson, Bloomberg.com, "Can John Cryan Save Deutsche Bank From Itself?," 25 July 2017
Spectators plugged their ears with their fingers and gamely dodged the occasional needle-sharp sting of a rogue ice pellet.

— victoria dawson, Smithsonian, "Conservation of a Pair of Saint-Gaudens Goes al Fresco at the Freer," 18 July 2017
During undercover sting operations over the past three weeks, officers seized more than 2,000 pounds of illegal fireworks that were being sold online, according to the Police Department.

— hannah fry, Daily Pilot, "In Costa Mesa, police track down illegal fireworks on the Fourth," 5 July 2017

First Known Use of sting

before 12th century

sting Synonyms

Synonyms

bunco (or bunko), con, fiddle [chiefly British], flimflam, gyp, hustle, scam, shell game, fraud, swindle

Related Words

cross, fix; Ponzi scheme, pyramid scheme; racket, rip-off; thimblerig, three-card monte; device, dodge, gimmick, jig, ploy, scheme, sleight, stratagem, trick, wile; gouging, overcharging, soaking; counterfeit, fake, forgery, hoax, humbug, phony (also phoney), sham

Near Antonyms

comfort, ease, easiness

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

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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

From the M-W Editors

Examples of sting in a Sentence

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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

Related Words

Near Antonyms

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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