verb (used with object),stung[stuhng] /stʌŋ/ or (Obsolete) stang[stang]; /stæŋ/; stung;sting·ing.
to prick or wound with a sharp-pointed, often venom-bearing organ.
to affect painfully or irritatingly as a result of contact, as certain plants do: to be stung by nettles.
to cause to smart or to cause a sharp pain: The blowing sand stung his eyes.
to cause mental or moral anguish: to be stung with remorse.
to goad or drive, as by sharp irritation.
Slang. to cheat or take advantage of, especially to overcharge; soak.
verb (used without object),stung[stuhng] /stʌŋ/ or (Obsolete) stang[stang]; /stæŋ/; stung;sting·ing.
to use, have, or wound with a sting, as bees.
to cause a sharp, smarting pain, as some plants, an acrid liquid or gas, or a slap or hit.
to cause acute mental pain or irritation, as annoying thoughts or one's conscience: The memory of that insult still stings.
to feel acute mental pain or irritation: He was stinging from the blow to his pride.
to feel a smarting pain, as from a blow or the sting of an insect.
noun
an act or an instance of stinging.
a wound, pain, or smart caused by stinging.
any sharp physical or mental wound, hurt, or pain.
anything or an element in anything that wounds, pains, or irritates: to feel the sting of defeat; Death, where is thy sting?
capacity to wound or pain: Satire has a sting.
a sharp stimulus or incitement: driven by the sting of jealousy; the sting of ambition.
Botany. a glandular hair on certain plants, as nettles, that emits an irritating fluid.
Zoology. any of various sharp-pointed, often venom-bearing organs of insects and other animals capable of inflicting painful or dangerous wounds.
Slang.
confidence game.
an ostensibly illegal operation, as the buying of stolen goods or the bribing of public officials, used by undercover investigators to collect evidence of wrongdoing.
Origin of sting
First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English stingen, Old English stingan “to pierce”; cognate with Old Norse stinga “to pierce,” Gothic -stangan (in usstangan “to pull out”); (noun) Middle English sting(e),Old English: “act of stinging,” derivative of the verb
OTHER WORDS FROM sting
sting·ing·ly,adverbstingless,adjectiveoutsting,verb (used with object),out·stung,out·sting·ing.re·sting,verb,re·stung,re·sting·ing.
Now, as female-founded businesses feel the sting of the pandemic, it’s up to these large institutional backers to get us to the next stage.
Institutional investors must take action on diversity in venture capital|ehinchliffe|August 31, 2020|Fortune
While the company wouldn’t say how much revenue that equals or what base the growth was from, that lift had to take some of the sting out of cratering ad sales figures.
How Hearst UK’s e-commerce revenue grew 322% during the second quarter|Lucinda Southern|August 21, 2020|Digiday
Schmidt has spent decades recording how painful he finds various stings.
What you need to know about ‘murder hornets’|Susan Milius|July 20, 2020|Science News For Students
People who blunder too close can get painful stings, says Bob Jacobson.
What you need to know about ‘murder hornets’|Susan Milius|July 20, 2020|Science News For Students
Less-quoted parts of this report from Japan point out that of the 15 people hospitalized for stings and discussed in the paper, those with fewer than 50 stings had a good chance of surviving.
What you need to know about ‘murder hornets’|Susan Milius|July 20, 2020|Science News For Students
Sting took over the lead role to try to draw an audience, but his thumpingly inspirational score was already the hero of the show.
Hedwig, Hugh & Michael Cera: 12 Powerhouse Theater Performances of 2014|Janice Kaplan|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And unless Republicans start pursuing very different priorities in Congress, that prognosis could sting.
GOP Senate Can't Resist a ‘War on Women’|Sally Kohn|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now Sting gets his turn, with this musical that he based on his own experiences growing up near a shipyard.
Fall Broadway Preview: 'This Is Our Youth,' Bradley Cooper as ‘The Elephant Man,' and More|Janice Kaplan|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Strangely, he did this by diluting the sting of the ant scene.
Whit Stillman on the 20th Anniversary of ‘Barcelona’, His New Amazon Series, and the Myth of the Ugly Expat|Michael Weiss|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Note to Sting: An “albatross” in this context is more like “tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt.”
Sting and Hillary Are Just Like You: How the Very Rich Play at Being Very Ordinary|Tim Teeman|June 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All separations have their sting, but sharp indeed was the sting in a case like this.
Japanese Literature|Various
But she nearly repented, she says, when she heard of the bees, lest they should sting.
It Never Can Happen Again|William De Morgan
He had never once mentioned her husband's name, fearing to scare her, or to sting her pride.
Petticoat Rule|Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy
They were apt to slip away from him in this case and sting him unmercifully with bullets.
The Strength of the Pines|Edison Marshall
I now see that the sting inflicted by vice must and will remain!
The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, January 1844|Various
British Dictionary definitions for sting
sting
/ (stɪŋ) /
verbstings, stingingorstung
(of certain animals and plants) to inflict a wound on (an organism) by the injection of poison
to feel or cause to feel a sharp mental or physical pain
(tr)to goad or incite (esp in the phrase sting into action)
(tr)informalto cheat, esp by overcharging
noun
a skin wound caused by the poison injected by certain insects or plants
pain caused by or as if by the sting of a plant or animal
a mental pain or panga sting of conscience
a sharp pointed organ, such as the ovipositor of a wasp, by which poison can be injected into the prey
the ability to stinga sharp sting in his criticism
something as painful or swift of action as a stingthe sting of death
a sharp stimulus or incitement
botany another name for stinging hair
slanga swindle or fraud
slanga trap set up by the police to entice a person to commit a crime and thereby produce evidence
sting in the tailan unexpected and unpleasant ending