What does stiff mean?
Definitions for stiff
stɪfstiff
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word stiff.
Princeton's WordNet
stiffnoun
an ordinary man
"a lucky stiff"; "a working stiff"
cadaver, corpse, stiff, clay, remainsadjective
the dead body of a human being
"the cadaver was intended for dissection"; "the end of the police search was the discovery of a corpse"; "the murderer confessed that he threw the stiff in the river"; "honor comes to bless the turf that wraps their clay"
stiffadjective
not moving or operating freely
"a stiff hinge"
stiffadjective
powerful
"a stiff current"; "a stiff breeze"
starchy, stiff, buckramadjective
rigidly formal
"a starchy manner"; "the letter was stiff and formal"; "his prose has a buckram quality"
potent, strong, stiffadjective
having a strong physiological or chemical effect
"a potent toxin"; "potent liquor"; "a potent cup of tea", "a stiff drink"
firm, steadfast, steady, stiff, unbendable, unfaltering, unshakable, unwaveringadjective
marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
"firm convictions"; "a firm mouth"; "steadfast resolve"; "a man of unbendable perseverence"; "unwavering loyalty"
rigid, stiffadjective
incapable of or resistant to bending
"a rigid strip of metal"; "a table made of rigid plastic"; "a palace guardsman stiff as a poker"; "stiff hair"; "a stiff neck"
besotted, blind drunk, blotto, crocked, cockeyed, fuddled, loaded, pie-eyed, pissed, pixilated, plastered, slopped, sloshed, smashed, soaked, soused, sozzled, squiffy, stiff, tight, wetadverb
very drunk
stiffadverb
extremely
"bored stiff"; "frightened stiff"
stiffly, stiffadverb
in a stiff manner
"his hands lay stiffly"
Wiktionary
stiffnoun
An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a working stiff or lucky stiff.
A Working Stiff's Manifesto: A Memoir of Thirty Jobs I Quit, Nine That Fired Me, and Three I Can't Remember was published in 2003.
stiffnoun
A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle.
She convinced the stiff to go to her hotel room, where her henchman was waiting to rob him.
stiffnoun
A cadaver, a dead person.
stiffnoun
A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.
stiffverb
To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily.
Realizing he had forgotten his wallet, he stiffed the taxi driver when the cab stopped for a red light.
stiffadjective
Of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible.
stiffadjective
Of policies and rules and their application and enforcement, inflexible.
stiffadjective
Of a person, formal in behavior, unrelaxed.
stiffadjective
Harsh, severe.
He was eventually caught, and given a stiff fine.
stiffadjective
Of muscles, or parts of the body, painful, as a result of excessive, or unaccustomed exercise.
My legs are stiff after climbing that hill yesterday.
stiffadjective
potent.
A stiff drink; a stiff dose; a stiff breeze.
stiffadjective
dead, deceased.
stiffadjective
Of a penis, erect.
Etymology: stif, from stifaz, from stīpos (compare stipare, from which English stevedore).
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
STIFFadjective
Etymology: stif , Saxon; stiff, Danish; styf, Swedish; stifur, Islandick; stijf, Dutch.
They rising on stiff pinions tower
The mid aerial sky. John Milton.The glittering robe
Hung floating loose, or stiff with mazy gold. James Thomson.Still less and less my boiling spirits flow,
And I grow stiff as cooling metals do. John Dryden, Indian Emp.Mingling with that oily liquor, they were wholly incorporate, and so grew more stiff and firm, making but one substance. Thomas Burnet, Theory of the Earth.
On a stiff gale
The Theban swan extends his wings. John Denham.How stiff is my vile sense,
That I stand up, and have ingenious feeling
Of my huge sorrows! Better I were distract! William Shakespeare.We neither allow unmeet nor purpose the stiff defence of any unnecessary custom heretofore received. Richard Hooker.
Yield to others when there is cause; but it is a shame to stand stiff in a foolish argument. Taylor.
A war ensues, the Cretans own their cause,
Stiff to defend their hospitable laws. Dryden.The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved. Joseph Addison, on Italy.
This is stiff news. William Shakespeare.
Wikipedia
Stiff
Be Stiff is the third single by American new wave band Devo. It was released in 1978. The song was taken from the sessions for Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! produced by Brian Eno. Guitarist Bob Lewis wrote the music and came up with the title concept; bassist Jerry Casale penned the verses. With its stop-start rhythms and angular arrangement, "Be Stiff" exemplified Devo's stance against soft rock complacency. It became an anthem for Stiff Records, and a minor success in the UK. It was covered multiple times, including on a Stiff-released EP of their own artists' interpretations. It was performed in 1980 and live recordings appear on DEV-O Live and Devo Live 1980. It was also performed as an encore on the Freedom of Choice shows of Devo's November 2009 tour, and included in the setlist of their 2014 Hardcore Devo Live! tour.
ChatGPT
stiff
Stiff can be defined in various contexts. Generally, it refers to something that is rigid and difficult to bend or move. In physiological characterization, it describes muscles or limbs lacking ease or flexibility in movement. In terms of character or behavior, it refers to someone who is very formal, rigid or strict in their behaviors or attitudes. In a competitive context, it can mean something or someone that is hard to defeat.
Webster Dictionary
Stiff
not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints
Stiff
not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff
Stiff
firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze
Stiff
not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary
Stiff
not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style
Stiff
harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear
Stiff
bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank
Stiff
very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Stiff
stif, adj. not easily bent: rigid: not liquid: rather hard than soft: not easily overcome: obstinate: not natural and easy: constrained: formal: hard to overcome, difficult: firm, of prices, &c.: dead, rigid in death: (naut.) keeping upright.—n. (slang) a corpse: negotiable paper: forged paper.—v.t. Stiff′en, to make stiff.—v.i. to become stiff: to become less impressible or more obstinate.—ns. Stiff′ener, one who, or that which, stiffens; Stiff′ening, something used to make a substance more stiff.—adj. Stiff′-heart′ed (B.), obstinate, stubborn.—adv. Stiff′ly.—n. Stiff′-neck, cervical myalgia, true torticollis.—adj. Stiff′-necked, obstinate, hard to move.—ns. Stiff′-neck′edness; Stiff′ness.—Do a bit of stiff, to accept or discount a bill. [A.S. stíf, stiff; Dut. stijf, Dan. stiv.]
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
stiff
Stable or steady; the opposite to crank; a quality by which a ship stands up to her canvas, and carries enough sail without heeling over too much.
Editors Contribution
Stiffverb
"Screw" or "f*ck"
I got stiffed.
Etymology: From street slang. A euphemism for the more vulgar terms, f*cked or screwed, meaning to be treated in an unfair way.
Submitted by h.r.quick1 on January 14, 2022
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
STIFF
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Stiff is ranked #11767 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Stiff surname appeared 2,662 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Stiff.
72.4% or 1,929 total occurrences were White.
23% or 613 total occurrences were Black.
2.2% or 59 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
1.5% or 40 total occurrences were of two or more races.
0.4% or 11 total occurrences were Asian.
0.3% or 10 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'stiff' in Adjectives Frequency: #739
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Anagrams for stiff »
tiffs
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of stiff in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of stiff in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of stiff in a Sentence
And though hard be the task, 'Keep a stiff upper lip'.
I'm a bit stiff just now. Just normal stuff that you would get after maybe playing on a grasscourt for the first time in a while, the longest I have practiced in the last year has been an hour and a half. I was on the court for significantly longer than that in a more intense environment. So, you know, I'm feeling decent, considering that.
A stiff apology is a second insult. The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.
People are scared stiff, they're petrified of rocking the boat and losing their position.
You can’t see mental health, and we don’t like to talk about it, we say we’re ‘fine’ and keep a stiff upper lip, but while it can be hard to speak out people, will listen and it does help.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for stiff
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- трупBulgarian
- rígid, encarcaratCatalan, Valencian
- ztuhlýCzech
- starr, Steifer, Zechpreller, prellen, steifGerman
- adolorido, tieso, rígido, serio, severo, duro, inflexibleSpanish
- tehdä oharit, jannu, uhri, kova, hemmo, heebo, kankea, ruumis, jäykkä, heppu, raatoFinnish
- macchabée, rigideFrench
- ragScottish Gaelic
- inflessibile, duro, rigido, severoItalian
- 払い忘れる, 堅い, カモ, 食い逃げ, 固い, 無銭飲食, 凝る, 硬い, オッサンJapanese
- stingrs, stings, stīvsLatvian
- ioioMāori
- rigide, stijf, inflexibel, stevig, stugDutch
- sério, severo, rijo, dolorido, duro, hirto, inflexível, rígidoPortuguese
- a țepuiRomanian
- лох, суровый, непоколебимый, твёрдый, одеревенелый, труп, жёсткий, непреклонный, негибкий, чопорный, холодный, окостеневший, жмурик, строгийRussian
- stel, sjappaSwedish
- cứngVietnamese
- stifikVolapük
Get even more translations for stiff »
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