Meaning of sting in English

sting

verb

/stɪŋ/ us

/stɪŋ/

stung | stung

sting verb (HURT)

If an insect, plant, or animal stings, it produces a small but painful injury, usually with a poison, by brushing against the skin or making a very small hole in the skin:

Do all types of bee sting?

I got stung by a wasp yesterday.

I didn't see the nettles until I was stung by them.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to hurt someone physically

hurtI hurt my arm climbing over the fence.
injureThe bomb killed ten people and injured many more.
woundHe was wounded so badly in the attack that doctors said he might never walk again.
maimThe atrocities have killed or maimed thousands of people.
tortureThe guards were accused of torturing prisoners.
stabHe was fatally stabbed with a kitchen knife.

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[ I or T ]

to cause sharp but usually temporary pain:

The soap/smoke/sweat stung my eyes.

This type of disinfectant doesn't sting, even if you put it on a fresh cut.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to cause pain

hurtMy leg hurts.
acheMy legs are still aching from my run yesterday.
throbMy head throbbed.
stingHis cheeks stung from the aftershave he'd just put on.
smartThe smoke was thick, making her eyes smart.
rubThe clothing is cleverly stitched to prevent the seams rubbing anywhere.

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Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to hurt someone physically

hurtI hurt my arm climbing over the fence.
injureThe bomb killed ten people and injured many more.
woundHe was wounded so badly in the attack that doctors said he might never walk again.
maimThe atrocities have killed or maimed thousands of people.
tortureThe guards were accused of torturing prisoners.
stabHe was fatally stabbed with a kitchen knife.

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[ I or T ]

If someone's unkind remarks sting, they make you feel upset and annoyed:

She knew he was right, but his words still stung.

He was stung by her criticisms.

She managed to give a stinging reply (= an angry answer intended to upset), before slamming down the phone.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to hurt someone emotionally

hurtI'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you.
hurt someone’s feelingsDon't say anything - you'll hurt her feelings.
upsetI'm sorry the news upset you.
woundHe had wounded her pride more than she would ever have admitted.
painIt pains me to admit it, but there's nothing I can do to change the situation.
grieveIt grieved him that he had been the cause of all the bitterness.

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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Animal & plant biology - general words

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Pain & painful

Making people sad, shocked and upset

sting verb (CHARGE)

[ T ] informal

to charge someone a surprisingly large amount of money for something:

The bank stung me for £50 in charges when I got overdrawn.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Selling

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sting

noun

/stɪŋ/ us

/stɪŋ/

sting noun (HURT)

[ C or S ]

a sudden burning pain in your eyes, on your skin, etc., or the ability to cause such pain:

She had several bee stings.

the sting of salt in a wound

Some types of jellyfish have a powerful sting.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

pain

painThere are drugs you can take to ease the pain.
agonyMothers will often talk about the agony of childbirth.
sorenessIf you sailed through the exercises without soreness, you can move on.
acheI developed a dull ache in my jaw.
discomfortSometimes receding gums can cause discomfort.
stingBee stings can cause an allergic reaction in some people.

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[ S ]

the feeling of being upset by something:

the sting of defeat

[ C ] UK

(US stinger)

a pointed part of an insect, plant, or animal that goes through a person's or animal's skin and leaves behind poison

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Pain & painful

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Sadness and regret

Parts of plants

Miscellaneous animal body parts

sting noun (GETTING STH)

[ C ] US

a carefully planned and complicated plan which deceives people so that criminals can steal something :

A bank employee was involved in the sting in which $5 million was stolen.

[ C ] mainly US

a police action to catch criminals in which the police pretend to be criminals:

a sting operation

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Stealing

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Plotting & trapping

Detection & solving crimes

sting noun (FILM)

a very short animation (= film using moving drawings) used as a form of advertising for a brand (= product name), TV channel, etc.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Cinema - general words

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Advertising and marketing

Idioms

have a sting in the/its tail

take the sting out of something

(Definition of sting from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

sting | American Dictionary

sting

verb

/stɪŋ/

past tense and past participle stung us/stʌŋ/

sting verb (HURT)

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[ I/T ]

(esp. of insects, plants, and animals) to produce a small but painful injury by making a very small hole in the skin:

[ I ] Why do bees sting?

[ I/T ]

If something stings, it causes you to feel pain:

[ T ] Cold air stung Jack’s lungs.

[ I ] The soap made his eyes sting.

[ I/T ]

If someone’s remarks sting you, they make you feel upset and annoyed:

[ T ] Managers were stung by criticism from environmentalists.

sting

noun [ C ]

/stɪŋ/

sting noun [C] (POLICE ACTIVITY)

an operation in which police officers or others pretend to be criminals so they can catch people committing crimes:

Officers set up a sting in which they sold him the jewels, and when he drove off with them they arrested him.

sting noun [C] (INJURY)

a small but painful injury caused when an insect or animal makes a small hole in the skin:

Bee stings covered his hands.

(Definition of sting from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

sting | Business English

sting

verb [ T ]

informal

/stɪŋ/ us

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to charge someone a large amount of money for something, especially when this is unfair:

sting sb for sth The bank stung me for €50 in charges.

to cause someone to lose money:

We have been stung by rising interest rates.

(Definition of sting from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of sting

sting

In prospect theory, loss delivers this exaggerated sting because losses are measured against the actor's reference point, not the actor's net asset position.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Like a diabolic adder it stings the life of many innocent people and is the burning topic of discussion.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In the case of criminal justice, several stinging defeats for opponents of civil rights galvanized a powerful elite countermovement.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Nor is criterialism, properly or sympathetically understood, vulnerable to the semantic sting.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Excessive ventilation for which the jets of air issuing from the holes in the sting appreciably disturbed the cavity surface, had t o be avoided.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

When the larva has been stung the female may withdraw her ovipositor, or wait with it in the cocoon.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I think we are entitled to wonder how desirable that transformation from a carrion-feasting hyena to a mosquito without a sting was.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Unless the female parasitoid prolonged its attack, host feeding wounds on adults could not be differentiated from host stinging alone.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A tick bite was recalled by 56 (71 %) of these patients and an insect sting by four (5 %).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

But, and here comes the sting, getting rid of the rationality axiom as a foundational postulate does not get rid of all problems.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Musical stories take the sting out of the repetition so often used in modern teaching to reinforce certain concepts.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The females would not sting the host larvae in any stage, and showed no interest in them.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In either case, the semantic sting argument fails.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There is stinging disappointment on her face and in her eyes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Both larval parasitoids leave a scar on the host cuticle after stinging the larvae.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of sting?