Definitions for stiff
stɪfstiff

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. stiffnoun

   an ordinary man

   "a lucky stiff"; "a working stiff"

2. 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"

3. stiffadjective

   not moving or operating freely

   "a stiff hinge"

4. stiffadjective

   powerful

   "a stiff current"; "a stiff breeze"

5. starchy, stiff, buckramadjective

   rigidly formal

   "a starchy manner"; "the letter was stiff and formal"; "his prose has a buckram quality"

6. potent, strong, stiffadjective

   having a strong physiological or chemical effect

   "a potent toxin"; "potent liquor"; "a potent cup of tea", "a stiff drink"

7. 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"

8. 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"

9. 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

10. stiffadverb

    extremely

    "bored stiff"; "frightened stiff"

11. stiffly, stiffadverb

    in a stiff manner

    "his hands lay stiffly"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. stiffnoun

   A cadaver, a dead person.

4. stiffnoun

   A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill.

5. 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.

6. stiffadjective

   Of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible.

7. stiffadjective

   Of policies and rules and their application and enforcement, inflexible.

8. stiffadjective

   Of a person, formal in behavior, unrelaxed.

9. stiffadjective

   Harsh, severe.

   He was eventually caught, and given a stiff fine.

10. 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.

11. stiffadjective

    potent.

    A stiff drink; a stiff dose; a stiff breeze.

12. stiffadjective

    dead, deceased.

13. stiffadjective

    Of a penis, erect.

14. Etymology: stif, from stifaz, from stīpos (compare stipare, from which English stevedore).

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. STIFFadjective

   Etymology: stif , Saxon; stiff, Danish; styf, Swedish; stifur, Islandick; stijf, Dutch.

   1. Rigid; inflexible; resisting flexure; not flaccid; not limber; not easily flexible; not pliant.

   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.

   2. Not soft; not giving way; not fluid; not easily yielding to the touch.

   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.

   3. Strong; not easily resisted.

   On a stiff gale
   The Theban swan extends his wings. John Denham.

   4. Hardy; stubborn; not easily subdued.

   How stiff is my vile sense,
   That I stand up, and have ingenious feeling
   Of my huge sorrows! Better I were distract! William Shakespeare.

   5. Obstinate; pertinacious.

   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.

   6. Harsh; not written with ease; constrained.7. Formal; rigorous in certain ceremonies; not disengaged in behaviour; starched; affected.

   The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved. Joseph Addison, on Italy.

   8. In William Shakespeare it seems to mean strongly maintained, or asserted with good evidence.

   This is stiff news. William Shakespeare.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Stiff

   not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints

2. Stiff

   not liquid or fluid; thick and tenacious; inspissated; neither soft nor hard; as, the paste is stiff

3. Stiff

   firm; strong; violent; difficult to oppose; as, a stiff gale or breeze

4. Stiff

   not easily subdued; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; pertinacious; as, a stiff adversary

5. Stiff

   not natural and easy; formal; constrained; affected; starched; as, stiff behavior; a stiff style

6. Stiff

   harsh; disagreeable; severe; hard to bear

7. Stiff

   bearing a press of canvas without careening much; as, a stiff vessel; -- opposed to crank

8. Stiff

   very large, strong, or costly; powerful; as, a stiff charge; a stiff price

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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

1. • Man

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'stiff' in Adjectives Frequency: #739

Anagrams for stiff »

1. tiffs

How to pronounce stiff?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say stiff in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of stiff in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of stiff in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of stiff in a Sentence

1. Tallulah Bankhead:

   I've tried several varieties of sex. The conventional position makes me claustrophobic and the others give me a stiff neck or lockjaw.

2. Donald Trump:

   He's a stiff. He's not a guy that can be president. He doesn't have what it takes.

3. Trevor Noah:

   You don’t believe it for the first few hours, you need a stiff drink, and then unfortunately you’re in a place where you can’t really get alcohol.

4. James Steyer:

   We urge the FTC to keep the pressure up by imposing fines with real monetary teeth and requiring meaningful structural change from these platforms, we also encourage Congress to update our privacy laws to reflect the digital world our kids are living in. Until platforms are forced to pay stiff penalties and commit to real changes they will not properly serve their kids and family audiences.

5. Shenqiang Ren:

   The material is stiff, strong and tough.

Popularity rank by frequency of use