sting
(stĭng)
[Middle English stingen, from Old English stingan.]
verb: stung (stŭng), sting·ing, stings.
transitive verb
- To pierce or wound painfully with or as if with a sharp-pointed structure or organ, as that of certain insects.
- To cause to feel a sharp, smarting pain by or as if by pricking with a sharp point: smoke stinging our eyes.
- To cause to suffer keenly in the mind or feelings: Those harsh words stung me bitterly.
- To spur on by or as if by sharp irritation.
- Slang To cheat or overcharge.
intransitive verb
- To have, use, or wound with or as if with a sharp-pointed structure or organ, as that of certain insects.
- To cause or feel a sharp, smarting pain.
noun
- The act of stinging.
- The wound or pain caused by or as if by stinging.
- A sharp, piercing organ or part, often ejecting a venomous secretion, as the modified ovipositor of a bee or wasp or the spine of certain fishes.
- A stinging power, quality, or capacity.
- A keen stimulus or incitement; a goad or spur: the sting of curiosity.
- Slang A complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care, especially an operation organized and implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals.
derivatives
- stinǵing·ly
- adverb
