Definition of sting in English:

sting

noun stɪŋstɪŋ

1A small sharp-pointed organ at the end of the abdomen of bees, wasps, ants, and scorpions, capable of inflicting a painful or dangerous wound by injecting poison.
Example sentencesExamples
- The poor fellow has neither the tusks of the elephant, nor the claws of the lion, nor even the horns or pointed teeth or stings and poison glands.
- It had a man's face with 3 rows of extremely sharp teeth in each jaw, a lion's body and a long tail with a sting like a scorpion's.
- They made clay containers filled with little flying insects that had poisonous stings, which were then fired off.
- Householders are being tormented by the buzzing wasps and businesses like restaurants and pubs are being plagued by the insects with a sting in their tail.
- They do have a sting in their tail - one venomous spike - but this is only used when under attack.
- She found the poison sting still in his body and from the odour, she knew that he had come to the child in the form of a scorpion.
1. 1.1 Any of a number of minute hairs or other organs of plants, jellyfishes, etc., which inject a poisonous or irritating fluid when touched.
  a nettle-like plant with no sting
  Example sentencesExamples
  A new cream, which prevents the jellyfish from firing their stings when touched, recently became available - just in time for the seasonal invasion of millions of small, purple jellyfish.
  I began to bleed at impact and quickly drew my finger away from the sting of the sharp plant.
  So they add defences - thistles have prickles and tough leaves, nettles have stings, other plants have toxins.
2. 1.2 A wound from a sting.
  a wasp or bee sting
  Example sentencesExamples
  She says that for centuries, plantain has been used to provide immediate relief from mosquito bites, hornet stings and the painful itching of poison ivy or poison oak.
  Wasp stings can range from a painful bite to very severe cases where death can result.
  Last year, several bathers suffered severe and painful stings while swimming among the jellyfish in the Mersey estuary.
  The sting is usually painful, and there can be serious symptoms, such as stomach pain, difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis and fits.
  ‘We know that 99 per cent are going to be wasp stings and grazed knees but we are equipped to deal with situations from collapses to heart attacks,’ he explained.
  On the afternoon of his death, a bronchial spasm caused by the wasp stings had caused him breathing difficulties, which had left his lungs hyper-inflated.
  Dilute vinegar is good first aid for box jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war stings.
  Wasp stings are regarded as passing inconveniences.
  Two wasp stings nearly cost a Heybridge woman her life as a sharp increase of call-outs to deal with the striped pests was reported in mid-Essex.
  A centipede bite is comparable to a wasp sting in its severity.
  What the books often don't tell you is that there are another set of spikes on the side of the gill plates, which can also inflict a painful sting.
  In the UK, most bites and stings are painful but harmless and only affect the area around the sting.
  Jellyfish stings are common and may be treated with heat application.
  Most scorpion stings are merely painful, leading to swelling in the immediate region of the sting, but some scorpions of northern Africa and the American southwest can be deadly.
  Despite suffering from sunburn, jellyfish stings and lack of sleep, we all survived and are no worse for wear.
  Some stings inflict only blisters, but others are strong enough to kill a human.
  Treatment of jellyfish stings in the United States and the Caribbean is concerned mostly with limiting pain and neurologic symptoms.
  It is believed the wasp stings triggered an asthmatic response in his airways, which was coupled with an allergic reaction.
  Although scorpion stings can be devastatingly painful, they are not usually lethal to humans.
  Their painful stings can ultimately lead to death for some people and newborn livestock.
  Synonyms
  prick, wound, injury
  bite, nip, puncture
3. 1.3 A sharp tingling or burning pain or sensation.
  she felt the sharp sting of tears behind her eyelids
  Example sentencesExamples
  He'd been whacked around a lot as a kid, he says, so any punishment absent the sting of physical pain didn't feel like punishment.
  I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes but found no where else to hide.
  The sting from his hand touching it really hurt so I turned around to see what he was doing.
  I swung into the tree and immediately felt a sharp sting of pain surge through my arm.
  The only sensation is the sting of the wind, cold and laced with salt.
  He used the dampened cotton to dab at her wounds; giving a slight sting each time it touched her skin for how long he held it there.
  Before any of the women could speak, Gale felt the sting of something sharp, and willed herself not to look at the doctor's work.
  Before he could react, a black shadow had descended upon him, causing a sharp sting of pain to run through his right arm.
  Here he removes the sting of onions and brightens them up by marinating them in lemon juice.
  The cuff sent me sprawling to the floor with a painful sting in my cheek, and a hurt feeling in the pit of my stomach.
  With the sting of the gas still in his eyes he had headed off with hundreds of other youths to join the growing crowds in Namak Mandi - the salt bazaar - in the centre of the city.
  In the old days a method of easing the sting of sunburn was to make a potato poultice which would give rapid relief.
  As one whizzed just past my face, I felt a sharp sting of pain on my right cheek.
  It pooled in his throat and in rivulets across his flat stomach, trickling into the wound with the raw sting of salt.
  Suddenly there was a great hollowness in her chest and she fought the sharp sting of new tears.
  For the first time in almost three years I felt the sting of tears in the corners of my eyelids.
  He crushed the tracking device in his hand, ignoring the sting of sharp metal on his palm.
  Some of it hit my radio man, and I tried to go out and bring him back, and that's when I felt a sharp sting in my shoulder.
  A shot fired from less than 5 metres can hurt, like a sharp sting, and on occasion even leave a small bruise, but this all adds to the reality.
  The married mother-of-five had been about to go into a haberdashery shop in Burgess Road when she felt a sharp sting on the back of her left leg.
  Synonyms
  smarting, smart, stinging, tingling, tingle, pricking
  pain, soreness, hurt, irritation
4. 1.4in singular A hurtful quality or effect.
  I recalled the sting of his betrayal
  she smiled to take the sting out of her words
  Example sentencesExamples
  I feel the sting of judgment whenever I raise the prospect of a third child.
  In 1996, Kentucky was smarting from the sting of its regional final collapse against North Carolina the previous season.
  Let all those who dare to cross you feel the power of your cannons, the bite of rapier, and the sting of your razor sharp wit.
  The sting of his satire is often viewed as an attack on the economic and social circumstances of the day.
  But speaking out regularly in a structured environment will take the sting out of shyness on the social scene.
  Synonyms
  heartache, heartbreak, agony, torture, torment, hurt, pain, anguish, distress, desolation, misery
  sharpness, severity, bite, edge, pointedness, asperity, pungency, mordancy, acerbity, acidity, tartness
  sarcasm, acrimony, malice, spite, venom
  rare causticity, mordacity
2informal A carefully planned operation, typically one involving deception.
five blackmailers were jailed last week after they were snared in a police sting
Example sentencesExamples
- Criminal investigation officers planned a sting operation to catch the young miscreants following numerous complaints.
- Police set up a sting operation to catch the man distributing the crystalline drug, known as Ice.
- Their operation had been successful for 8 months before police moved in to arrest them in a sting operation.
- They were arrested by FBI agents in an undercover sting known as Operation Smoking Dragon.
- It was the FBI doing a sting on a State Police officer.
- This basically provides an exemption so that the police can conduct sting operations for alcohol, as they do for tobacco.
- His scam ran for three years, ending in September 2001, after a sting conducted by undercover police.
- Officers planned a sting operation and handed a marked 500 baht note to pay off one of the men.
- Trading Standards officers and police will run sting operations to trap traders selling powerful, illegal fireworks or selling to children.
- Earlier this week 11 ticket vendors were detained by Pattaya police in a sting operation.
- The 12 men were arrested on Wednesday in a sting operation as police and army officials sought to crack down on illegal quarrying.
- He rolls along nicely in this manner until the police mount a sting operation and arrest him.
- Swindon's Operation Delta burglary squad has been working closely with the Metropolitan Police on an undercover sting operation.
- But they demanded an immediate stop to controversial sting operations where undercover police pose as customers.
- A Canadian man has been arrested for advanced fee fraud following a sting operation instigated by a Connecticut woman fed up with receiving scam emails.
- The JTTFs are now proving good vehicles for operational coordination in raids, undercover stings, and intensive surveillance.
- He launched a secret operation, codenamed Satiety, which was one of the most carefully executed stings in Scotland Yard's history.
- When a £3m deal was struck, the buyer turned out to be an undercover police officer and gang members were arrested in a sting operation at Antwerp airport.
- The anti-drugs campaign committee will be managing the proceeds and will use some of the money for sting operations to help police break up drug rings.
- The nine-month undercover sting saw two police officers infiltrate drug users and dealers in the town and buy heroin and crack cocaine from them.
Synonyms
swindle, fraud, piece of deception, trickery, cheat, bit of sharp practice
informal rip-off, con, con trick, diddle, fiddle
North American informal bunco

verbstung stɪŋstɪŋ

1with object Wound or pierce with a sting.
he was stung by a jellyfish
no object a nettle stings if you brush it lightly
Example sentencesExamples
- When a bee or wasp stings, it releases pheromones that give off an alarm signal, which then alerts the other members of the colony about where to attack.
- When the scorpion stings him before he can get to it, it introduces pain and panic.
- A businessman from East Yorkshire has died after being stung by a tiny jellyfish in what is thought to be the first known fatality of its kind.
- After a happy few hours snorkelling on Monday, I was unfortunate enough to be stung by a jelly-fish while walking in the surf on Wednesday.
- There is also a new and rampant variety of anemone on the bottom, and the chance of being stung by jellyfish or anemone is no longer unlikely.
- Hopefully we won't be maimed by saltwater crocodiles, eaten by sharks, or stung by poisonous jellyfish.
- My bare legs were instantly stung by nettles, and a swarm of wasps gathered around the fake flower-reeds I had to drape myself in to become Titania.
- The most terrifying is the story of the swimmer stung by a particular kind of jellyfish.
- We reached the dive site without incident, every pair had a dive in turn and all divers were stung equally badly by jellyfish.
- Pets such as dogs and cats may bite if mis-handled or frightened, and wild animals such as snakes and jellyfish might bite or sting if disturbed.
- One evening we labored, stung by nettles and mosquitoes, to set up Sewell's camera blind on Otter Pond in the great marsh.
- If you get do get stung by a jellyfish, always apply vinegar immediately.
- I cautiously waded in up to my thighs, and was immediately stung by a jellyfish.
- These flies do not bite or sting humans, and are considered beneficial, as they are predacious on aphids and other insects.
- As they drive, a bug stings Stan and his arm starts to swell badly.
- It is thought the animal was either bitten or stung by an insect.
- Getting stung by a jellyfish is among summer's beach bummers.
- If you should get stung by a box jellyfish, you won't get off lightly.
- It is the rash you get when you have been stung by nettles.
- She would use the nettle to discreetly sting herself when arthritis stiffened her fingers.
Synonyms
prick, wound, injure, hurt
bite, nip, penetrate
poison
rare urticate
1. 1.1 Feel or cause to feel a sharp tingling or burning pain or sensation.
  no object her eyes stung as if she might cry again
  with object the brandy stung his throat
  Example sentencesExamples
  Pain from his arm was rising intensely from the glass cutting into his palm and the sweat that subsequently stung the wound.
  Her open wounds seemed to sting with every move and even if the lightest fabric touched her bruises, she was forced to yelp in pain.
  The wind picked up and this sand was just hitting you without let up and it was a biting, piercing, stinging aggravation.
  At first the saltwater stung his wounds, but he got used to it, letting the water clean him up.
  A sharp burning sensation stung just below his shoulder, thrusting his slim frame forward in the saddle.
  His wounds still stung from the day before but the serum he brought with him would heal them in less than three days.
  The air outside was crisp and very cold, the kind of cold that is sharp and stings the throat.
  Ask if the perifistular skin has burning or stinging sensations, usually indicative of denuded skin.
  The air was cool and sharp and stung her nostrils a little as she breathed it in.
  I heard loud bangs on the window, and we felt stinging, choking sensations in our throats.
  It must be a stressful time for him but up here on the hill, in the clear and biting air which stings the skin, it seems easy to leave behind the cares of the world.
  The puncture wound stings a little and, more alarming, my forearms and hands begin tingling.
  I hissed as my left leg started to sting again from the wound I'd gotten trying to escape the last time.
  She gasped as he hit the tender parts and moaned as he dabbed it with something that stung at her wound like alcohol was being poured over the gaping flesh.
  The wounds stung and I shuddered when she applied the pressure.
  A sharp pain stung his neck, and he lifted a hand to explore the area, grimly satisfied when he found a small dart, about as long as a joint of his index finger.
  A single tear slipped from her eye, stinging the wound even further.
  The cuts stung with burning pain, and I was tempted to stop, but I couldn't.
  A pepper grain went up my nose, and the spicy broth stung my throat terribly.
  The open wound in my shoulder stung sharply, but I merely held it as tight as I could, willing the bleeding to stop.
  Synonyms
  smart, tingle, burn, be painful, hurt, be irritated, be sore, ache
2. 1.2with object (typically of something said) hurt or upset (someone)
  stung by her mockery, Frank hung his head
  Example sentencesExamples
  The words hurt, stinging me because there was some truth to them.
  Apparently stung by the criticisms, unnamed American officials attempted to set the record straight.
  Her words were meant to sting and hurt, to make him feel equally as bad as he had made her now feel.
  Finally announcing pricing details for its broadband satellite service, BTopenworld has stung Internet users just where it hurts the most.
  The players were obviously stung by criticism of their performance in Christchurch and determined to make amends.
  Synonyms
  upset, wound, distress, make miserable, cut to the quick, sear, grieve, hurt, pain, torment, mortify
3. 1.3sting someone into Provoke someone to do (something) by causing annoyance or offence.
  he was stung into action by an article in the paper
  Example sentencesExamples
  Socrates' preferred analogy for his own role in the city was that of a gadfly, who lit upon his fellow citizens and sought to sting them into a healthy state of intellectual wakefulness.
  That score stung Edinburgh into raising the pace once more and they briefly rediscovered the all-action style that had been so evident during the first half, earning a penalty which Laney converted to narrow the gap to a single point.
  Having been breached so comfortably, United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were stung into action.
  The meeting came after the Selby Labour MP stung her into action by in effect accusing her of preparing to give Yorkshire miners even worse treatment than Lady Thatcher had meted out.
  Somehow that reality stung me into confronting the person my mother intended me to be, and who I would become if I kept stealing.
  However this stung him into action and by half-time the visitors were 26-5 down.
  This score stung St. Forcherns into action and from the kick-out the ball reached Ailish who took on the MLR backline and crashed home a good goal to give her side a two point advantage.
  Jackie, whose eight-year-old daughter Libby has cerebral palsy, said she was stung into action when she was asked if disabled children needed to play.
  This time last season, the Mansfield Football Club was stung into action.
  This score stung him into action and the rest of the half was played out between the two 22s.
  Synonyms
  provoke, goad, incite, spur, prick, prod, rouse, stir up, drive, move, motivate, galvanize, stimulate
2informal with object Swindle or exorbitantly overcharge (someone)
I had to buy some boxer shorts at the last minute and got stung for £42.50!
Example sentencesExamples
- If we add it all up, we find that the taxpayer could be stung for up to $44 million, and that is without looking at possible appeals.
- Over the last three years, Irish banks have been stung for an average of €5 million annually as a result of credit card fraud.
- It means that I'm probably going to be stung for excess baggage charges when I check in, but I should be able to claim that back from the company.
- I'm pretty close to the station, but if for some reason I wanted to catch the bus part of the way, I'd be stung for an extra zone 2 fare.
- So if you sold the rental property within the first 3 years you could benefit from the rental income, and then sell without being stung for CGT.
- Otherwise, you may be stung for as much as a fiver.
- Elaine - who was stung for a staggering £660-was so incensed she has launched a campaign.
- On top of that you'll be stung for a £15 monthly fee as well and an additional £20 each time you overdraw.
Synonyms
swindle, defraud, cheat, fleece, gull
informal rip off, screw, do, rook, diddle, take for a ride, skin, clip, gyp
North American informal chisel, gouge, bunco
British informal, dated rush

Phrases

sting in the tail

An unexpected, typically unpleasant or problematic end to something.
the Budget comes with a sting in the tail—future tax increases
Example sentencesExamples
- The ‘contingent workforce’ has begun to feel the sting in the tail of ‘flexibility’ and the dart came from none other than Microsoft itself.
- It is a sting in the tail for livestock farmers who had welcomed DEFRA's decision to reduce the movement standstill from 20 days to six.
- However, there is a sting in the tail - men in Southampton are paid £2.57 an hour more compared to women, even though the Equal Pay Act came into force 35 years ago.
- If the benchmarking body does not deliver parity of pay, then we will deliver the sting in the tail.
- And there was a sting in the tail for HBOS, who after leading Adlington CC at half time saw their opponents recover in the second half to win 193-144.
- But there could be a sting in the tail, with the unexpected surge in jobs putting another interest rate hike back on the RBA's agenda.
- While he agrees it's a good outcome for shareholders, he believes there could be a sting in the tail for investors as the big players consider their options.
- ‘Motorists got off lightly on petrol prices in the Budget but this is the sting in the tail,’ said a SIMI chief executive.
- While he extended the current venture capital trust schemes, research and development tax credits and capital allowances, there was a surprise sting in the tail for those running some of Britain's smallest enterprises.
- For many companies the only alternative to the EMI is an unapproved option scheme, which has a nasty national insurance contribution sting in the tail.

Derivatives

stingingly

adverbˈstɪŋɪŋliˈstɪŋɪŋli

What is clear is that the old guard had little time for him, and he stingingly concludes by pointing out that his own Test average with the bat is almost identical to that of his captain's.
Example sentencesExamples
- The pride in insularity, the lip service paid to children and spouses, the hypocrisies soothed by a Sunday church service, the celebration of the auto, and the shallow dismissal of politics couldn't be more stingingly apt then or now.
- In their bitter recriminations Lear, Gloucester and Edgar are vindicating Lear's Fool, who has been stingingly indicting his master's folly and society's hypocrisies from the play's first scene.

stingless

adjective ˈstɪŋləsˈstɪŋləs

Although Panama's native bees - mostly small, stingless varieties - helped coffee growers a little, he says their virtual replacement by Africanized bees has begun stabilizing coffee yields in the country at near-optimal levels.
Example sentencesExamples
- He leads us to the log hives of stingless black bees, which produce Chardonnay-colored honey - a highlight of the Maya diet that is harvested only during full-moon ceremonies.
- Beekeepers in Mexico's Yucatán peninsula have abandoned the traditional method of harvesting honey from stingless native bees in favor of the more aggressive Africanized bees because of vastly improved honey yields.
- We are testing several species of tiny, stingless wasps, the sharpshooters' natural enemies, to see whether they can quash expanding sharpshooter populations.
- One egg parasitoid, a tiny, stingless wasp called Gonatocerus triguttatus, has already been released in California by researchers at the University of California at Riverside and APHIS.

Origin

Old English sting (noun), stingan (verb), of Germanic origin.

Rhymes

Beijing, bing, bring, Chungking, cling, ding, dingaling, fling, I Ching, king, Kunming, ling, Ming, Nanjing, Peking, ping, ring, sing, Singh, sling, spring, string, swing, Synge, thing, ting, wing, wring, Xining, zing

Definition of sting in US English:

sting

nounstiNGstɪŋ

1A small sharp-pointed organ at the end of the abdomen of bees, wasps, ants, and scorpions, capable of inflicting a painful or dangerous wound by injecting poison.
Example sentencesExamples
- The poor fellow has neither the tusks of the elephant, nor the claws of the lion, nor even the horns or pointed teeth or stings and poison glands.
- She found the poison sting still in his body and from the odour, she knew that he had come to the child in the form of a scorpion.
- They made clay containers filled with little flying insects that had poisonous stings, which were then fired off.
- They do have a sting in their tail - one venomous spike - but this is only used when under attack.
- Householders are being tormented by the buzzing wasps and businesses like restaurants and pubs are being plagued by the insects with a sting in their tail.
- It had a man's face with 3 rows of extremely sharp teeth in each jaw, a lion's body and a long tail with a sting like a scorpion's.
1. 1.1 Any of a number of minute hairs or other organs of plants, jellyfishes, etc., which inject a poisonous or irritating fluid when touched.
  Example sentencesExamples
  A new cream, which prevents the jellyfish from firing their stings when touched, recently became available - just in time for the seasonal invasion of millions of small, purple jellyfish.
  So they add defences - thistles have prickles and tough leaves, nettles have stings, other plants have toxins.
  I began to bleed at impact and quickly drew my finger away from the sting of the sharp plant.
2. 1.2 A wound from the sting of an insect or plant.
  a wasp or bee sting
  Example sentencesExamples
  Two wasp stings nearly cost a Heybridge woman her life as a sharp increase of call-outs to deal with the striped pests was reported in mid-Essex.
  A centipede bite is comparable to a wasp sting in its severity.
  Some stings inflict only blisters, but others are strong enough to kill a human.
  Although scorpion stings can be devastatingly painful, they are not usually lethal to humans.
  ‘We know that 99 per cent are going to be wasp stings and grazed knees but we are equipped to deal with situations from collapses to heart attacks,’ he explained.
  On the afternoon of his death, a bronchial spasm caused by the wasp stings had caused him breathing difficulties, which had left his lungs hyper-inflated.
  Wasp stings can range from a painful bite to very severe cases where death can result.
  It is believed the wasp stings triggered an asthmatic response in his airways, which was coupled with an allergic reaction.
  What the books often don't tell you is that there are another set of spikes on the side of the gill plates, which can also inflict a painful sting.
  Most scorpion stings are merely painful, leading to swelling in the immediate region of the sting, but some scorpions of northern Africa and the American southwest can be deadly.
  Treatment of jellyfish stings in the United States and the Caribbean is concerned mostly with limiting pain and neurologic symptoms.
  Wasp stings are regarded as passing inconveniences.
  She says that for centuries, plantain has been used to provide immediate relief from mosquito bites, hornet stings and the painful itching of poison ivy or poison oak.
  Jellyfish stings are common and may be treated with heat application.
  In the UK, most bites and stings are painful but harmless and only affect the area around the sting.
  Dilute vinegar is good first aid for box jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war stings.
  Last year, several bathers suffered severe and painful stings while swimming among the jellyfish in the Mersey estuary.
  Their painful stings can ultimately lead to death for some people and newborn livestock.
  The sting is usually painful, and there can be serious symptoms, such as stomach pain, difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis and fits.
  Despite suffering from sunburn, jellyfish stings and lack of sleep, we all survived and are no worse for wear.
  Synonyms
  prick, wound, injury
3. 1.3 A sharp tingling or burning pain or sensation.
  I felt the sting of the cold, bitter air
  Example sentencesExamples
  Before any of the women could speak, Gale felt the sting of something sharp, and willed herself not to look at the doctor's work.
  The only sensation is the sting of the wind, cold and laced with salt.
  As one whizzed just past my face, I felt a sharp sting of pain on my right cheek.
  With the sting of the gas still in his eyes he had headed off with hundreds of other youths to join the growing crowds in Namak Mandi - the salt bazaar - in the centre of the city.
  I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes but found no where else to hide.
  It pooled in his throat and in rivulets across his flat stomach, trickling into the wound with the raw sting of salt.
  I swung into the tree and immediately felt a sharp sting of pain surge through my arm.
  He crushed the tracking device in his hand, ignoring the sting of sharp metal on his palm.
  A shot fired from less than 5 metres can hurt, like a sharp sting, and on occasion even leave a small bruise, but this all adds to the reality.
  He used the dampened cotton to dab at her wounds; giving a slight sting each time it touched her skin for how long he held it there.
  The cuff sent me sprawling to the floor with a painful sting in my cheek, and a hurt feeling in the pit of my stomach.
  Some of it hit my radio man, and I tried to go out and bring him back, and that's when I felt a sharp sting in my shoulder.
  Before he could react, a black shadow had descended upon him, causing a sharp sting of pain to run through his right arm.
  For the first time in almost three years I felt the sting of tears in the corners of my eyelids.
  In the old days a method of easing the sting of sunburn was to make a potato poultice which would give rapid relief.
  He'd been whacked around a lot as a kid, he says, so any punishment absent the sting of physical pain didn't feel like punishment.
  Suddenly there was a great hollowness in her chest and she fought the sharp sting of new tears.
  The married mother-of-five had been about to go into a haberdashery shop in Burgess Road when she felt a sharp sting on the back of her left leg.
  Here he removes the sting of onions and brightens them up by marinating them in lemon juice.
  The sting from his hand touching it really hurt so I turned around to see what he was doing.
  Synonyms
  smarting, smart, stinging, tingling, tingle, pricking
4. 1.4in singular A hurtful quality or effect.
  she smiled to take the sting out of her words
  Example sentencesExamples
  Let all those who dare to cross you feel the power of your cannons, the bite of rapier, and the sting of your razor sharp wit.
  I feel the sting of judgment whenever I raise the prospect of a third child.
  But speaking out regularly in a structured environment will take the sting out of shyness on the social scene.
  In 1996, Kentucky was smarting from the sting of its regional final collapse against North Carolina the previous season.
  The sting of his satire is often viewed as an attack on the economic and social circumstances of the day.
  Synonyms
  heartache, heartbreak, agony, torture, torment, hurt, pain, anguish, distress, desolation, misery
  sharpness, severity, bite, edge, pointedness, asperity, pungency, mordancy, acerbity, acidity, tartness
2informal A carefully planned operation, typically one involving deception.
five blackmailers were jailed last week after they were snared in a police sting
Example sentencesExamples
- He launched a secret operation, codenamed Satiety, which was one of the most carefully executed stings in Scotland Yard's history.
- The JTTFs are now proving good vehicles for operational coordination in raids, undercover stings, and intensive surveillance.
- The nine-month undercover sting saw two police officers infiltrate drug users and dealers in the town and buy heroin and crack cocaine from them.
- Police set up a sting operation to catch the man distributing the crystalline drug, known as Ice.
- They were arrested by FBI agents in an undercover sting known as Operation Smoking Dragon.
- His scam ran for three years, ending in September 2001, after a sting conducted by undercover police.
- The 12 men were arrested on Wednesday in a sting operation as police and army officials sought to crack down on illegal quarrying.
- Officers planned a sting operation and handed a marked 500 baht note to pay off one of the men.
- Earlier this week 11 ticket vendors were detained by Pattaya police in a sting operation.
- This basically provides an exemption so that the police can conduct sting operations for alcohol, as they do for tobacco.
- When a £3m deal was struck, the buyer turned out to be an undercover police officer and gang members were arrested in a sting operation at Antwerp airport.
- Swindon's Operation Delta burglary squad has been working closely with the Metropolitan Police on an undercover sting operation.
- Criminal investigation officers planned a sting operation to catch the young miscreants following numerous complaints.
- Their operation had been successful for 8 months before police moved in to arrest them in a sting operation.
- The anti-drugs campaign committee will be managing the proceeds and will use some of the money for sting operations to help police break up drug rings.
- He rolls along nicely in this manner until the police mount a sting operation and arrest him.
- But they demanded an immediate stop to controversial sting operations where undercover police pose as customers.
- It was the FBI doing a sting on a State Police officer.
- Trading Standards officers and police will run sting operations to trap traders selling powerful, illegal fireworks or selling to children.
- A Canadian man has been arrested for advanced fee fraud following a sting operation instigated by a Connecticut woman fed up with receiving scam emails.
Synonyms
swindle, fraud, piece of deception, trickery, cheat, bit of sharp practice

verbstiNGstɪŋ

1with object Wound or pierce with a sting.
he was stung by a jellyfish
no object a nettle stings if you brush it lightly
Example sentencesExamples
- There is also a new and rampant variety of anemone on the bottom, and the chance of being stung by jellyfish or anemone is no longer unlikely.
- When the scorpion stings him before he can get to it, it introduces pain and panic.
- We reached the dive site without incident, every pair had a dive in turn and all divers were stung equally badly by jellyfish.
- If you should get stung by a box jellyfish, you won't get off lightly.
- It is the rash you get when you have been stung by nettles.
- These flies do not bite or sting humans, and are considered beneficial, as they are predacious on aphids and other insects.
- As they drive, a bug stings Stan and his arm starts to swell badly.
- She would use the nettle to discreetly sting herself when arthritis stiffened her fingers.
- If you get do get stung by a jellyfish, always apply vinegar immediately.
- It is thought the animal was either bitten or stung by an insect.
- One evening we labored, stung by nettles and mosquitoes, to set up Sewell's camera blind on Otter Pond in the great marsh.
- After a happy few hours snorkelling on Monday, I was unfortunate enough to be stung by a jelly-fish while walking in the surf on Wednesday.
- I cautiously waded in up to my thighs, and was immediately stung by a jellyfish.
- My bare legs were instantly stung by nettles, and a swarm of wasps gathered around the fake flower-reeds I had to drape myself in to become Titania.
- Hopefully we won't be maimed by saltwater crocodiles, eaten by sharks, or stung by poisonous jellyfish.
- The most terrifying is the story of the swimmer stung by a particular kind of jellyfish.
- Pets such as dogs and cats may bite if mis-handled or frightened, and wild animals such as snakes and jellyfish might bite or sting if disturbed.
- A businessman from East Yorkshire has died after being stung by a tiny jellyfish in what is thought to be the first known fatality of its kind.
- Getting stung by a jellyfish is among summer's beach bummers.
- When a bee or wasp stings, it releases pheromones that give off an alarm signal, which then alerts the other members of the colony about where to attack.
Synonyms
prick, wound, injure, hurt
1. 1.1 Feel or cause to feel a sharp tingling or burning pain or sensation.
  with object the brandy stung his throat
  no object her eyes stung
  Example sentencesExamples
  A pepper grain went up my nose, and the spicy broth stung my throat terribly.
  She gasped as he hit the tender parts and moaned as he dabbed it with something that stung at her wound like alcohol was being poured over the gaping flesh.
  His wounds still stung from the day before but the serum he brought with him would heal them in less than three days.
  Pain from his arm was rising intensely from the glass cutting into his palm and the sweat that subsequently stung the wound.
  A sharp burning sensation stung just below his shoulder, thrusting his slim frame forward in the saddle.
  Her open wounds seemed to sting with every move and even if the lightest fabric touched her bruises, she was forced to yelp in pain.
  The wind picked up and this sand was just hitting you without let up and it was a biting, piercing, stinging aggravation.
  The open wound in my shoulder stung sharply, but I merely held it as tight as I could, willing the bleeding to stop.
  The air outside was crisp and very cold, the kind of cold that is sharp and stings the throat.
  At first the saltwater stung his wounds, but he got used to it, letting the water clean him up.
  The wounds stung and I shuddered when she applied the pressure.
  The cuts stung with burning pain, and I was tempted to stop, but I couldn't.
  I hissed as my left leg started to sting again from the wound I'd gotten trying to escape the last time.
  The air was cool and sharp and stung her nostrils a little as she breathed it in.
  A sharp pain stung his neck, and he lifted a hand to explore the area, grimly satisfied when he found a small dart, about as long as a joint of his index finger.
  It must be a stressful time for him but up here on the hill, in the clear and biting air which stings the skin, it seems easy to leave behind the cares of the world.
  The puncture wound stings a little and, more alarming, my forearms and hands begin tingling.
  I heard loud bangs on the window, and we felt stinging, choking sensations in our throats.
  A single tear slipped from her eye, stinging the wound even further.
  Ask if the perifistular skin has burning or stinging sensations, usually indicative of denuded skin.
  Synonyms
  smart, tingle, burn, be painful, hurt, be irritated, be sore, ache
2. 1.2with object (typically of something said) hurt or upset (someone)
  stung by her mockery, Frank hung his head
  Example sentencesExamples
  The words hurt, stinging me because there was some truth to them.
  The players were obviously stung by criticism of their performance in Christchurch and determined to make amends.
  Finally announcing pricing details for its broadband satellite service, BTopenworld has stung Internet users just where it hurts the most.
  Her words were meant to sting and hurt, to make him feel equally as bad as he had made her now feel.
  Apparently stung by the criticisms, unnamed American officials attempted to set the record straight.
  Synonyms
  upset, wound, distress, make miserable, cut to the quick, sear, grieve, hurt, pain, torment, mortify
3. 1.3sting someone into Provoke someone to do (something) by causing annoyance or offense.
  he was stung into action by an article in the paper
  Example sentencesExamples
  Having been breached so comfortably, United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were stung into action.
  That score stung Edinburgh into raising the pace once more and they briefly rediscovered the all-action style that had been so evident during the first half, earning a penalty which Laney converted to narrow the gap to a single point.
  This score stung St. Forcherns into action and from the kick-out the ball reached Ailish who took on the MLR backline and crashed home a good goal to give her side a two point advantage.
  This time last season, the Mansfield Football Club was stung into action.
  Jackie, whose eight-year-old daughter Libby has cerebral palsy, said she was stung into action when she was asked if disabled children needed to play.
  This score stung him into action and the rest of the half was played out between the two 22s.
  The meeting came after the Selby Labour MP stung her into action by in effect accusing her of preparing to give Yorkshire miners even worse treatment than Lady Thatcher had meted out.
  Socrates' preferred analogy for his own role in the city was that of a gadfly, who lit upon his fellow citizens and sought to sting them into a healthy state of intellectual wakefulness.
  Somehow that reality stung me into confronting the person my mother intended me to be, and who I would become if I kept stealing.
  However this stung him into action and by half-time the visitors were 26-5 down.
  Synonyms
  provoke, goad, incite, spur, prick, prod, rouse, stir up, drive, move, motivate, galvanize, stimulate
2informal with object Swindle or exorbitantly overcharge (someone)
an elaborate fraud that stung a bank for thousands
Example sentencesExamples
- Otherwise, you may be stung for as much as a fiver.
- It means that I'm probably going to be stung for excess baggage charges when I check in, but I should be able to claim that back from the company.
- Over the last three years, Irish banks have been stung for an average of €5 million annually as a result of credit card fraud.
- If we add it all up, we find that the taxpayer could be stung for up to $44 million, and that is without looking at possible appeals.
- I'm pretty close to the station, but if for some reason I wanted to catch the bus part of the way, I'd be stung for an extra zone 2 fare.
- Elaine - who was stung for a staggering £660-was so incensed she has launched a campaign.
- On top of that you'll be stung for a £15 monthly fee as well and an additional £20 each time you overdraw.
- So if you sold the rental property within the first 3 years you could benefit from the rental income, and then sell without being stung for CGT.
Synonyms
swindle, defraud, cheat, fleece, gull

Phrases

sting in the tail

An unexpected, typically unpleasant or problematic end to something.
the Budget comes with a sting in the tail—future tax increases
Example sentencesExamples
- For many companies the only alternative to the EMI is an unapproved option scheme, which has a nasty national insurance contribution sting in the tail.
- While he extended the current venture capital trust schemes, research and development tax credits and capital allowances, there was a surprise sting in the tail for those running some of Britain's smallest enterprises.
- The ‘contingent workforce’ has begun to feel the sting in the tail of ‘flexibility’ and the dart came from none other than Microsoft itself.
- It is a sting in the tail for livestock farmers who had welcomed DEFRA's decision to reduce the movement standstill from 20 days to six.
- And there was a sting in the tail for HBOS, who after leading Adlington CC at half time saw their opponents recover in the second half to win 193-144.
- But there could be a sting in the tail, with the unexpected surge in jobs putting another interest rate hike back on the RBA's agenda.
- While he agrees it's a good outcome for shareholders, he believes there could be a sting in the tail for investors as the big players consider their options.
- ‘Motorists got off lightly on petrol prices in the Budget but this is the sting in the tail,’ said a SIMI chief executive.
- However, there is a sting in the tail - men in Southampton are paid £2.57 an hour more compared to women, even though the Equal Pay Act came into force 35 years ago.
- If the benchmarking body does not deliver parity of pay, then we will deliver the sting in the tail.

Origin

Old English sting (noun), stingan (verb), of Germanic origin.

单词	sting
释义	Definition of sting in English: sting noun stɪŋstɪŋ 1A small sharp-pointed organ at the end of the abdomen of bees, wasps, ants, and scorpions, capable of inflicting a painful or dangerous wound by injecting poison. Example sentencesExamples The poor fellow has neither the tusks of the elephant, nor the claws of the lion, nor even the horns or pointed teeth or stings and poison glands. It had a man's face with 3 rows of extremely sharp teeth in each jaw, a lion's body and a long tail with a sting like a scorpion's. They made clay containers filled with little flying insects that had poisonous stings, which were then fired off. Householders are being tormented by the buzzing wasps and businesses like restaurants and pubs are being plagued by the insects with a sting in their tail. They do have a sting in their tail - one venomous spike - but this is only used when under attack. She found the poison sting still in his body and from the odour, she knew that he had come to the child in the form of a scorpion. 1.1 Any of a number of minute hairs or other organs of plants, jellyfishes, etc., which inject a poisonous or irritating fluid when touched. a nettle-like plant with no sting Example sentencesExamples A new cream, which prevents the jellyfish from firing their stings when touched, recently became available - just in time for the seasonal invasion of millions of small, purple jellyfish. I began to bleed at impact and quickly drew my finger away from the sting of the sharp plant. So they add defences - thistles have prickles and tough leaves, nettles have stings, other plants have toxins. 1.2 A wound from a sting. a wasp or bee sting Example sentencesExamples She says that for centuries, plantain has been used to provide immediate relief from mosquito bites, hornet stings and the painful itching of poison ivy or poison oak. Wasp stings can range from a painful bite to very severe cases where death can result. Last year, several bathers suffered severe and painful stings while swimming among the jellyfish in the Mersey estuary. The sting is usually painful, and there can be serious symptoms, such as stomach pain, difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis and fits. ‘We know that 99 per cent are going to be wasp stings and grazed knees but we are equipped to deal with situations from collapses to heart attacks,’ he explained. On the afternoon of his death, a bronchial spasm caused by the wasp stings had caused him breathing difficulties, which had left his lungs hyper-inflated. Dilute vinegar is good first aid for box jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war stings. Wasp stings are regarded as passing inconveniences. Two wasp stings nearly cost a Heybridge woman her life as a sharp increase of call-outs to deal with the striped pests was reported in mid-Essex. A centipede bite is comparable to a wasp sting in its severity. What the books often don't tell you is that there are another set of spikes on the side of the gill plates, which can also inflict a painful sting. In the UK, most bites and stings are painful but harmless and only affect the area around the sting. Jellyfish stings are common and may be treated with heat application. Most scorpion stings are merely painful, leading to swelling in the immediate region of the sting, but some scorpions of northern Africa and the American southwest can be deadly. Despite suffering from sunburn, jellyfish stings and lack of sleep, we all survived and are no worse for wear. Some stings inflict only blisters, but others are strong enough to kill a human. Treatment of jellyfish stings in the United States and the Caribbean is concerned mostly with limiting pain and neurologic symptoms. It is believed the wasp stings triggered an asthmatic response in his airways, which was coupled with an allergic reaction. Although scorpion stings can be devastatingly painful, they are not usually lethal to humans. Their painful stings can ultimately lead to death for some people and newborn livestock. Synonyms prick, wound, injury bite, nip, puncture 1.3 A sharp tingling or burning pain or sensation. she felt the sharp sting of tears behind her eyelids Example sentencesExamples He'd been whacked around a lot as a kid, he says, so any punishment absent the sting of physical pain didn't feel like punishment. I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes but found no where else to hide. The sting from his hand touching it really hurt so I turned around to see what he was doing. I swung into the tree and immediately felt a sharp sting of pain surge through my arm. The only sensation is the sting of the wind, cold and laced with salt. He used the dampened cotton to dab at her wounds; giving a slight sting each time it touched her skin for how long he held it there. Before any of the women could speak, Gale felt the sting of something sharp, and willed herself not to look at the doctor's work. Before he could react, a black shadow had descended upon him, causing a sharp sting of pain to run through his right arm. Here he removes the sting of onions and brightens them up by marinating them in lemon juice. The cuff sent me sprawling to the floor with a painful sting in my cheek, and a hurt feeling in the pit of my stomach. With the sting of the gas still in his eyes he had headed off with hundreds of other youths to join the growing crowds in Namak Mandi - the salt bazaar - in the centre of the city. In the old days a method of easing the sting of sunburn was to make a potato poultice which would give rapid relief. As one whizzed just past my face, I felt a sharp sting of pain on my right cheek. It pooled in his throat and in rivulets across his flat stomach, trickling into the wound with the raw sting of salt. Suddenly there was a great hollowness in her chest and she fought the sharp sting of new tears. For the first time in almost three years I felt the sting of tears in the corners of my eyelids. He crushed the tracking device in his hand, ignoring the sting of sharp metal on his palm. Some of it hit my radio man, and I tried to go out and bring him back, and that's when I felt a sharp sting in my shoulder. A shot fired from less than 5 metres can hurt, like a sharp sting, and on occasion even leave a small bruise, but this all adds to the reality. The married mother-of-five had been about to go into a haberdashery shop in Burgess Road when she felt a sharp sting on the back of her left leg. Synonyms smarting, smart, stinging, tingling, tingle, pricking pain, soreness, hurt, irritation 1.4in singular A hurtful quality or effect. I recalled the sting of his betrayal she smiled to take the sting out of her words Example sentencesExamples I feel the sting of judgment whenever I raise the prospect of a third child. In 1996, Kentucky was smarting from the sting of its regional final collapse against North Carolina the previous season. Let all those who dare to cross you feel the power of your cannons, the bite of rapier, and the sting of your razor sharp wit. The sting of his satire is often viewed as an attack on the economic and social circumstances of the day. But speaking out regularly in a structured environment will take the sting out of shyness on the social scene. Synonyms heartache, heartbreak, agony, torture, torment, hurt, pain, anguish, distress, desolation, misery sharpness, severity, bite, edge, pointedness, asperity, pungency, mordancy, acerbity, acidity, tartness sarcasm, acrimony, malice, spite, venom rare causticity, mordacity 2informal A carefully planned operation, typically one involving deception. five blackmailers were jailed last week after they were snared in a police sting Example sentencesExamples Criminal investigation officers planned a sting operation to catch the young miscreants following numerous complaints. Police set up a sting operation to catch the man distributing the crystalline drug, known as Ice. Their operation had been successful for 8 months before police moved in to arrest them in a sting operation. They were arrested by FBI agents in an undercover sting known as Operation Smoking Dragon. It was the FBI doing a sting on a State Police officer. This basically provides an exemption so that the police can conduct sting operations for alcohol, as they do for tobacco. His scam ran for three years, ending in September 2001, after a sting conducted by undercover police. Officers planned a sting operation and handed a marked 500 baht note to pay off one of the men. Trading Standards officers and police will run sting operations to trap traders selling powerful, illegal fireworks or selling to children. Earlier this week 11 ticket vendors were detained by Pattaya police in a sting operation. The 12 men were arrested on Wednesday in a sting operation as police and army officials sought to crack down on illegal quarrying. He rolls along nicely in this manner until the police mount a sting operation and arrest him. Swindon's Operation Delta burglary squad has been working closely with the Metropolitan Police on an undercover sting operation. But they demanded an immediate stop to controversial sting operations where undercover police pose as customers. A Canadian man has been arrested for advanced fee fraud following a sting operation instigated by a Connecticut woman fed up with receiving scam emails. The JTTFs are now proving good vehicles for operational coordination in raids, undercover stings, and intensive surveillance. He launched a secret operation, codenamed Satiety, which was one of the most carefully executed stings in Scotland Yard's history. When a £3m deal was struck, the buyer turned out to be an undercover police officer and gang members were arrested in a sting operation at Antwerp airport. The anti-drugs campaign committee will be managing the proceeds and will use some of the money for sting operations to help police break up drug rings. The nine-month undercover sting saw two police officers infiltrate drug users and dealers in the town and buy heroin and crack cocaine from them. Synonyms swindle, fraud, piece of deception, trickery, cheat, bit of sharp practice informal rip-off, con, con trick, diddle, fiddle North American informal bunco verbstung stɪŋstɪŋ 1with object Wound or pierce with a sting. he was stung by a jellyfish no object a nettle stings if you brush it lightly Example sentencesExamples When a bee or wasp stings, it releases pheromones that give off an alarm signal, which then alerts the other members of the colony about where to attack. When the scorpion stings him before he can get to it, it introduces pain and panic. A businessman from East Yorkshire has died after being stung by a tiny jellyfish in what is thought to be the first known fatality of its kind. After a happy few hours snorkelling on Monday, I was unfortunate enough to be stung by a jelly-fish while walking in the surf on Wednesday. There is also a new and rampant variety of anemone on the bottom, and the chance of being stung by jellyfish or anemone is no longer unlikely. Hopefully we won't be maimed by saltwater crocodiles, eaten by sharks, or stung by poisonous jellyfish. My bare legs were instantly stung by nettles, and a swarm of wasps gathered around the fake flower-reeds I had to drape myself in to become Titania. The most terrifying is the story of the swimmer stung by a particular kind of jellyfish. We reached the dive site without incident, every pair had a dive in turn and all divers were stung equally badly by jellyfish. Pets such as dogs and cats may bite if mis-handled or frightened, and wild animals such as snakes and jellyfish might bite or sting if disturbed. One evening we labored, stung by nettles and mosquitoes, to set up Sewell's camera blind on Otter Pond in the great marsh. If you get do get stung by a jellyfish, always apply vinegar immediately. I cautiously waded in up to my thighs, and was immediately stung by a jellyfish. These flies do not bite or sting humans, and are considered beneficial, as they are predacious on aphids and other insects. As they drive, a bug stings Stan and his arm starts to swell badly. It is thought the animal was either bitten or stung by an insect. Getting stung by a jellyfish is among summer's beach bummers. If you should get stung by a box jellyfish, you won't get off lightly. It is the rash you get when you have been stung by nettles. She would use the nettle to discreetly sting herself when arthritis stiffened her fingers. Synonyms prick, wound, injure, hurt bite, nip, penetrate poison rare urticate 1.1 Feel or cause to feel a sharp tingling or burning pain or sensation. no object her eyes stung as if she might cry again with object the brandy stung his throat Example sentencesExamples Pain from his arm was rising intensely from the glass cutting into his palm and the sweat that subsequently stung the wound. Her open wounds seemed to sting with every move and even if the lightest fabric touched her bruises, she was forced to yelp in pain. The wind picked up and this sand was just hitting you without let up and it was a biting, piercing, stinging aggravation. At first the saltwater stung his wounds, but he got used to it, letting the water clean him up. A sharp burning sensation stung just below his shoulder, thrusting his slim frame forward in the saddle. His wounds still stung from the day before but the serum he brought with him would heal them in less than three days. The air outside was crisp and very cold, the kind of cold that is sharp and stings the throat. Ask if the perifistular skin has burning or stinging sensations, usually indicative of denuded skin. The air was cool and sharp and stung her nostrils a little as she breathed it in. I heard loud bangs on the window, and we felt stinging, choking sensations in our throats. It must be a stressful time for him but up here on the hill, in the clear and biting air which stings the skin, it seems easy to leave behind the cares of the world. The puncture wound stings a little and, more alarming, my forearms and hands begin tingling. I hissed as my left leg started to sting again from the wound I'd gotten trying to escape the last time. She gasped as he hit the tender parts and moaned as he dabbed it with something that stung at her wound like alcohol was being poured over the gaping flesh. The wounds stung and I shuddered when she applied the pressure. A sharp pain stung his neck, and he lifted a hand to explore the area, grimly satisfied when he found a small dart, about as long as a joint of his index finger. A single tear slipped from her eye, stinging the wound even further. The cuts stung with burning pain, and I was tempted to stop, but I couldn't. A pepper grain went up my nose, and the spicy broth stung my throat terribly. The open wound in my shoulder stung sharply, but I merely held it as tight as I could, willing the bleeding to stop. Synonyms smart, tingle, burn, be painful, hurt, be irritated, be sore, ache 1.2with object (typically of something said) hurt or upset (someone) stung by her mockery, Frank hung his head Example sentencesExamples The words hurt, stinging me because there was some truth to them. Apparently stung by the criticisms, unnamed American officials attempted to set the record straight. Her words were meant to sting and hurt, to make him feel equally as bad as he had made her now feel. Finally announcing pricing details for its broadband satellite service, BTopenworld has stung Internet users just where it hurts the most. The players were obviously stung by criticism of their performance in Christchurch and determined to make amends. Synonyms upset, wound, distress, make miserable, cut to the quick, sear, grieve, hurt, pain, torment, mortify 1.3sting someone into Provoke someone to do (something) by causing annoyance or offence. he was stung into action by an article in the paper Example sentencesExamples Socrates' preferred analogy for his own role in the city was that of a gadfly, who lit upon his fellow citizens and sought to sting them into a healthy state of intellectual wakefulness. That score stung Edinburgh into raising the pace once more and they briefly rediscovered the all-action style that had been so evident during the first half, earning a penalty which Laney converted to narrow the gap to a single point. Having been breached so comfortably, United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were stung into action. The meeting came after the Selby Labour MP stung her into action by in effect accusing her of preparing to give Yorkshire miners even worse treatment than Lady Thatcher had meted out. Somehow that reality stung me into confronting the person my mother intended me to be, and who I would become if I kept stealing. However this stung him into action and by half-time the visitors were 26-5 down. This score stung St. Forcherns into action and from the kick-out the ball reached Ailish who took on the MLR backline and crashed home a good goal to give her side a two point advantage. Jackie, whose eight-year-old daughter Libby has cerebral palsy, said she was stung into action when she was asked if disabled children needed to play. This time last season, the Mansfield Football Club was stung into action. This score stung him into action and the rest of the half was played out between the two 22s. Synonyms provoke, goad, incite, spur, prick, prod, rouse, stir up, drive, move, motivate, galvanize, stimulate 2informal with object Swindle or exorbitantly overcharge (someone) I had to buy some boxer shorts at the last minute and got stung for £42.50! Example sentencesExamples If we add it all up, we find that the taxpayer could be stung for up to $44 million, and that is without looking at possible appeals. Over the last three years, Irish banks have been stung for an average of €5 million annually as a result of credit card fraud. It means that I'm probably going to be stung for excess baggage charges when I check in, but I should be able to claim that back from the company. I'm pretty close to the station, but if for some reason I wanted to catch the bus part of the way, I'd be stung for an extra zone 2 fare. So if you sold the rental property within the first 3 years you could benefit from the rental income, and then sell without being stung for CGT. Otherwise, you may be stung for as much as a fiver. Elaine - who was stung for a staggering £660-was so incensed she has launched a campaign. On top of that you'll be stung for a £15 monthly fee as well and an additional £20 each time you overdraw. Synonyms swindle, defraud, cheat, fleece, gull informal rip off, screw, do, rook, diddle, take for a ride, skin, clip, gyp North American informal chisel, gouge, bunco British informal, dated rush Phrases sting in the tail An unexpected, typically unpleasant or problematic end to something. the Budget comes with a sting in the tail—future tax increases Example sentencesExamples The ‘contingent workforce’ has begun to feel the sting in the tail of ‘flexibility’ and the dart came from none other than Microsoft itself. It is a sting in the tail for livestock farmers who had welcomed DEFRA's decision to reduce the movement standstill from 20 days to six. However, there is a sting in the tail - men in Southampton are paid £2.57 an hour more compared to women, even though the Equal Pay Act came into force 35 years ago. If the benchmarking body does not deliver parity of pay, then we will deliver the sting in the tail. And there was a sting in the tail for HBOS, who after leading Adlington CC at half time saw their opponents recover in the second half to win 193-144. But there could be a sting in the tail, with the unexpected surge in jobs putting another interest rate hike back on the RBA's agenda. While he agrees it's a good outcome for shareholders, he believes there could be a sting in the tail for investors as the big players consider their options. ‘Motorists got off lightly on petrol prices in the Budget but this is the sting in the tail,’ said a SIMI chief executive. While he extended the current venture capital trust schemes, research and development tax credits and capital allowances, there was a surprise sting in the tail for those running some of Britain's smallest enterprises. For many companies the only alternative to the EMI is an unapproved option scheme, which has a nasty national insurance contribution sting in the tail. Derivatives stingingly adverbˈstɪŋɪŋliˈstɪŋɪŋli What is clear is that the old guard had little time for him, and he stingingly concludes by pointing out that his own Test average with the bat is almost identical to that of his captain's. Example sentencesExamples The pride in insularity, the lip service paid to children and spouses, the hypocrisies soothed by a Sunday church service, the celebration of the auto, and the shallow dismissal of politics couldn't be more stingingly apt then or now. In their bitter recriminations Lear, Gloucester and Edgar are vindicating Lear's Fool, who has been stingingly indicting his master's folly and society's hypocrisies from the play's first scene. stingless adjective ˈstɪŋləsˈstɪŋləs Although Panama's native bees - mostly small, stingless varieties - helped coffee growers a little, he says their virtual replacement by Africanized bees has begun stabilizing coffee yields in the country at near-optimal levels. Example sentencesExamples He leads us to the log hives of stingless black bees, which produce Chardonnay-colored honey - a highlight of the Maya diet that is harvested only during full-moon ceremonies. Beekeepers in Mexico's Yucatán peninsula have abandoned the traditional method of harvesting honey from stingless native bees in favor of the more aggressive Africanized bees because of vastly improved honey yields. We are testing several species of tiny, stingless wasps, the sharpshooters' natural enemies, to see whether they can quash expanding sharpshooter populations. One egg parasitoid, a tiny, stingless wasp called Gonatocerus triguttatus, has already been released in California by researchers at the University of California at Riverside and APHIS. Origin Old English sting (noun), stingan (verb), of Germanic origin. Rhymes Beijing, bing, bring, Chungking, cling, ding, dingaling, fling, I Ching, king, Kunming, ling, Ming, Nanjing, Peking, ping, ring, sing, Singh, sling, spring, string, swing, Synge, thing, ting, wing, wring, Xining, zing noun.1 phr. Definition of sting in US English: sting nounstiNGstɪŋ 1A small sharp-pointed organ at the end of the abdomen of bees, wasps, ants, and scorpions, capable of inflicting a painful or dangerous wound by injecting poison. Example sentencesExamples The poor fellow has neither the tusks of the elephant, nor the claws of the lion, nor even the horns or pointed teeth or stings and poison glands. She found the poison sting still in his body and from the odour, she knew that he had come to the child in the form of a scorpion. They made clay containers filled with little flying insects that had poisonous stings, which were then fired off. They do have a sting in their tail - one venomous spike - but this is only used when under attack. Householders are being tormented by the buzzing wasps and businesses like restaurants and pubs are being plagued by the insects with a sting in their tail. It had a man's face with 3 rows of extremely sharp teeth in each jaw, a lion's body and a long tail with a sting like a scorpion's. 1.1 Any of a number of minute hairs or other organs of plants, jellyfishes, etc., which inject a poisonous or irritating fluid when touched. Example sentencesExamples A new cream, which prevents the jellyfish from firing their stings when touched, recently became available - just in time for the seasonal invasion of millions of small, purple jellyfish. So they add defences - thistles have prickles and tough leaves, nettles have stings, other plants have toxins. I began to bleed at impact and quickly drew my finger away from the sting of the sharp plant. 1.2 A wound from the sting of an insect or plant. a wasp or bee sting Example sentencesExamples Two wasp stings nearly cost a Heybridge woman her life as a sharp increase of call-outs to deal with the striped pests was reported in mid-Essex. A centipede bite is comparable to a wasp sting in its severity. Some stings inflict only blisters, but others are strong enough to kill a human. Although scorpion stings can be devastatingly painful, they are not usually lethal to humans. ‘We know that 99 per cent are going to be wasp stings and grazed knees but we are equipped to deal with situations from collapses to heart attacks,’ he explained. On the afternoon of his death, a bronchial spasm caused by the wasp stings had caused him breathing difficulties, which had left his lungs hyper-inflated. Wasp stings can range from a painful bite to very severe cases where death can result. It is believed the wasp stings triggered an asthmatic response in his airways, which was coupled with an allergic reaction. What the books often don't tell you is that there are another set of spikes on the side of the gill plates, which can also inflict a painful sting. Most scorpion stings are merely painful, leading to swelling in the immediate region of the sting, but some scorpions of northern Africa and the American southwest can be deadly. Treatment of jellyfish stings in the United States and the Caribbean is concerned mostly with limiting pain and neurologic symptoms. Wasp stings are regarded as passing inconveniences. She says that for centuries, plantain has been used to provide immediate relief from mosquito bites, hornet stings and the painful itching of poison ivy or poison oak. Jellyfish stings are common and may be treated with heat application. In the UK, most bites and stings are painful but harmless and only affect the area around the sting. Dilute vinegar is good first aid for box jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war stings. Last year, several bathers suffered severe and painful stings while swimming among the jellyfish in the Mersey estuary. Their painful stings can ultimately lead to death for some people and newborn livestock. The sting is usually painful, and there can be serious symptoms, such as stomach pain, difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis and fits. Despite suffering from sunburn, jellyfish stings and lack of sleep, we all survived and are no worse for wear. Synonyms prick, wound, injury 1.3 A sharp tingling or burning pain or sensation. I felt the sting of the cold, bitter air Example sentencesExamples Before any of the women could speak, Gale felt the sting of something sharp, and willed herself not to look at the doctor's work. The only sensation is the sting of the wind, cold and laced with salt. As one whizzed just past my face, I felt a sharp sting of pain on my right cheek. With the sting of the gas still in his eyes he had headed off with hundreds of other youths to join the growing crowds in Namak Mandi - the salt bazaar - in the centre of the city. I felt the sting of tears behind my eyes but found no where else to hide. It pooled in his throat and in rivulets across his flat stomach, trickling into the wound with the raw sting of salt. I swung into the tree and immediately felt a sharp sting of pain surge through my arm. He crushed the tracking device in his hand, ignoring the sting of sharp metal on his palm. A shot fired from less than 5 metres can hurt, like a sharp sting, and on occasion even leave a small bruise, but this all adds to the reality. He used the dampened cotton to dab at her wounds; giving a slight sting each time it touched her skin for how long he held it there. The cuff sent me sprawling to the floor with a painful sting in my cheek, and a hurt feeling in the pit of my stomach. Some of it hit my radio man, and I tried to go out and bring him back, and that's when I felt a sharp sting in my shoulder. Before he could react, a black shadow had descended upon him, causing a sharp sting of pain to run through his right arm. For the first time in almost three years I felt the sting of tears in the corners of my eyelids. In the old days a method of easing the sting of sunburn was to make a potato poultice which would give rapid relief. He'd been whacked around a lot as a kid, he says, so any punishment absent the sting of physical pain didn't feel like punishment. Suddenly there was a great hollowness in her chest and she fought the sharp sting of new tears. The married mother-of-five had been about to go into a haberdashery shop in Burgess Road when she felt a sharp sting on the back of her left leg. Here he removes the sting of onions and brightens them up by marinating them in lemon juice. The sting from his hand touching it really hurt so I turned around to see what he was doing. Synonyms smarting, smart, stinging, tingling, tingle, pricking 1.4in singular A hurtful quality or effect. she smiled to take the sting out of her words Example sentencesExamples Let all those who dare to cross you feel the power of your cannons, the bite of rapier, and the sting of your razor sharp wit. I feel the sting of judgment whenever I raise the prospect of a third child. But speaking out regularly in a structured environment will take the sting out of shyness on the social scene. In 1996, Kentucky was smarting from the sting of its regional final collapse against North Carolina the previous season. The sting of his satire is often viewed as an attack on the economic and social circumstances of the day. Synonyms heartache, heartbreak, agony, torture, torment, hurt, pain, anguish, distress, desolation, misery sharpness, severity, bite, edge, pointedness, asperity, pungency, mordancy, acerbity, acidity, tartness 2informal A carefully planned operation, typically one involving deception. five blackmailers were jailed last week after they were snared in a police sting Example sentencesExamples He launched a secret operation, codenamed Satiety, which was one of the most carefully executed stings in Scotland Yard's history. The JTTFs are now proving good vehicles for operational coordination in raids, undercover stings, and intensive surveillance. The nine-month undercover sting saw two police officers infiltrate drug users and dealers in the town and buy heroin and crack cocaine from them. Police set up a sting operation to catch the man distributing the crystalline drug, known as Ice. They were arrested by FBI agents in an undercover sting known as Operation Smoking Dragon. His scam ran for three years, ending in September 2001, after a sting conducted by undercover police. The 12 men were arrested on Wednesday in a sting operation as police and army officials sought to crack down on illegal quarrying. Officers planned a sting operation and handed a marked 500 baht note to pay off one of the men. Earlier this week 11 ticket vendors were detained by Pattaya police in a sting operation. This basically provides an exemption so that the police can conduct sting operations for alcohol, as they do for tobacco. When a £3m deal was struck, the buyer turned out to be an undercover police officer and gang members were arrested in a sting operation at Antwerp airport. Swindon's Operation Delta burglary squad has been working closely with the Metropolitan Police on an undercover sting operation. Criminal investigation officers planned a sting operation to catch the young miscreants following numerous complaints. Their operation had been successful for 8 months before police moved in to arrest them in a sting operation. The anti-drugs campaign committee will be managing the proceeds and will use some of the money for sting operations to help police break up drug rings. He rolls along nicely in this manner until the police mount a sting operation and arrest him. But they demanded an immediate stop to controversial sting operations where undercover police pose as customers. It was the FBI doing a sting on a State Police officer. Trading Standards officers and police will run sting operations to trap traders selling powerful, illegal fireworks or selling to children. A Canadian man has been arrested for advanced fee fraud following a sting operation instigated by a Connecticut woman fed up with receiving scam emails. Synonyms swindle, fraud, piece of deception, trickery, cheat, bit of sharp practice verbstiNGstɪŋ 1with object Wound or pierce with a sting. he was stung by a jellyfish no object a nettle stings if you brush it lightly Example sentencesExamples There is also a new and rampant variety of anemone on the bottom, and the chance of being stung by jellyfish or anemone is no longer unlikely. When the scorpion stings him before he can get to it, it introduces pain and panic. We reached the dive site without incident, every pair had a dive in turn and all divers were stung equally badly by jellyfish. If you should get stung by a box jellyfish, you won't get off lightly. It is the rash you get when you have been stung by nettles. These flies do not bite or sting humans, and are considered beneficial, as they are predacious on aphids and other insects. As they drive, a bug stings Stan and his arm starts to swell badly. She would use the nettle to discreetly sting herself when arthritis stiffened her fingers. If you get do get stung by a jellyfish, always apply vinegar immediately. It is thought the animal was either bitten or stung by an insect. One evening we labored, stung by nettles and mosquitoes, to set up Sewell's camera blind on Otter Pond in the great marsh. After a happy few hours snorkelling on Monday, I was unfortunate enough to be stung by a jelly-fish while walking in the surf on Wednesday. I cautiously waded in up to my thighs, and was immediately stung by a jellyfish. My bare legs were instantly stung by nettles, and a swarm of wasps gathered around the fake flower-reeds I had to drape myself in to become Titania. Hopefully we won't be maimed by saltwater crocodiles, eaten by sharks, or stung by poisonous jellyfish. The most terrifying is the story of the swimmer stung by a particular kind of jellyfish. Pets such as dogs and cats may bite if mis-handled or frightened, and wild animals such as snakes and jellyfish might bite or sting if disturbed. A businessman from East Yorkshire has died after being stung by a tiny jellyfish in what is thought to be the first known fatality of its kind. Getting stung by a jellyfish is among summer's beach bummers. When a bee or wasp stings, it releases pheromones that give off an alarm signal, which then alerts the other members of the colony about where to attack. Synonyms prick, wound, injure, hurt 1.1 Feel or cause to feel a sharp tingling or burning pain or sensation. with object the brandy stung his throat no object her eyes stung Example sentencesExamples A pepper grain went up my nose, and the spicy broth stung my throat terribly. She gasped as he hit the tender parts and moaned as he dabbed it with something that stung at her wound like alcohol was being poured over the gaping flesh. His wounds still stung from the day before but the serum he brought with him would heal them in less than three days. Pain from his arm was rising intensely from the glass cutting into his palm and the sweat that subsequently stung the wound. A sharp burning sensation stung just below his shoulder, thrusting his slim frame forward in the saddle. Her open wounds seemed to sting with every move and even if the lightest fabric touched her bruises, she was forced to yelp in pain. The wind picked up and this sand was just hitting you without let up and it was a biting, piercing, stinging aggravation. The open wound in my shoulder stung sharply, but I merely held it as tight as I could, willing the bleeding to stop. The air outside was crisp and very cold, the kind of cold that is sharp and stings the throat. At first the saltwater stung his wounds, but he got used to it, letting the water clean him up. The wounds stung and I shuddered when she applied the pressure. The cuts stung with burning pain, and I was tempted to stop, but I couldn't. I hissed as my left leg started to sting again from the wound I'd gotten trying to escape the last time. The air was cool and sharp and stung her nostrils a little as she breathed it in. A sharp pain stung his neck, and he lifted a hand to explore the area, grimly satisfied when he found a small dart, about as long as a joint of his index finger. It must be a stressful time for him but up here on the hill, in the clear and biting air which stings the skin, it seems easy to leave behind the cares of the world. The puncture wound stings a little and, more alarming, my forearms and hands begin tingling. I heard loud bangs on the window, and we felt stinging, choking sensations in our throats. A single tear slipped from her eye, stinging the wound even further. Ask if the perifistular skin has burning or stinging sensations, usually indicative of denuded skin. Synonyms smart, tingle, burn, be painful, hurt, be irritated, be sore, ache 1.2with object (typically of something said) hurt or upset (someone) stung by her mockery, Frank hung his head Example sentencesExamples The words hurt, stinging me because there was some truth to them. The players were obviously stung by criticism of their performance in Christchurch and determined to make amends. Finally announcing pricing details for its broadband satellite service, BTopenworld has stung Internet users just where it hurts the most. Her words were meant to sting and hurt, to make him feel equally as bad as he had made her now feel. Apparently stung by the criticisms, unnamed American officials attempted to set the record straight. Synonyms upset, wound, distress, make miserable, cut to the quick, sear, grieve, hurt, pain, torment, mortify 1.3sting someone into Provoke someone to do (something) by causing annoyance or offense. he was stung into action by an article in the paper Example sentencesExamples Having been breached so comfortably, United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were stung into action. That score stung Edinburgh into raising the pace once more and they briefly rediscovered the all-action style that had been so evident during the first half, earning a penalty which Laney converted to narrow the gap to a single point. This score stung St. Forcherns into action and from the kick-out the ball reached Ailish who took on the MLR backline and crashed home a good goal to give her side a two point advantage. This time last season, the Mansfield Football Club was stung into action. Jackie, whose eight-year-old daughter Libby has cerebral palsy, said she was stung into action when she was asked if disabled children needed to play. This score stung him into action and the rest of the half was played out between the two 22s. The meeting came after the Selby Labour MP stung her into action by in effect accusing her of preparing to give Yorkshire miners even worse treatment than Lady Thatcher had meted out. Socrates' preferred analogy for his own role in the city was that of a gadfly, who lit upon his fellow citizens and sought to sting them into a healthy state of intellectual wakefulness. Somehow that reality stung me into confronting the person my mother intended me to be, and who I would become if I kept stealing. However this stung him into action and by half-time the visitors were 26-5 down. Synonyms provoke, goad, incite, spur, prick, prod, rouse, stir up, drive, move, motivate, galvanize, stimulate 2informal with object Swindle or exorbitantly overcharge (someone) an elaborate fraud that stung a bank for thousands Example sentencesExamples Otherwise, you may be stung for as much as a fiver. It means that I'm probably going to be stung for excess baggage charges when I check in, but I should be able to claim that back from the company. Over the last three years, Irish banks have been stung for an average of €5 million annually as a result of credit card fraud. If we add it all up, we find that the taxpayer could be stung for up to $44 million, and that is without looking at possible appeals. I'm pretty close to the station, but if for some reason I wanted to catch the bus part of the way, I'd be stung for an extra zone 2 fare. Elaine - who was stung for a staggering £660-was so incensed she has launched a campaign. On top of that you'll be stung for a £15 monthly fee as well and an additional £20 each time you overdraw. So if you sold the rental property within the first 3 years you could benefit from the rental income, and then sell without being stung for CGT. Synonyms swindle, defraud, cheat, fleece, gull Phrases sting in the tail An unexpected, typically unpleasant or problematic end to something. the Budget comes with a sting in the tail—future tax increases Example sentencesExamples For many companies the only alternative to the EMI is an unapproved option scheme, which has a nasty national insurance contribution sting in the tail. While he extended the current venture capital trust schemes, research and development tax credits and capital allowances, there was a surprise sting in the tail for those running some of Britain's smallest enterprises. The ‘contingent workforce’ has begun to feel the sting in the tail of ‘flexibility’ and the dart came from none other than Microsoft itself. It is a sting in the tail for livestock farmers who had welcomed DEFRA's decision to reduce the movement standstill from 20 days to six. And there was a sting in the tail for HBOS, who after leading Adlington CC at half time saw their opponents recover in the second half to win 193-144. But there could be a sting in the tail, with the unexpected surge in jobs putting another interest rate hike back on the RBA's agenda. While he agrees it's a good outcome for shareholders, he believes there could be a sting in the tail for investors as the big players consider their options. ‘Motorists got off lightly on petrol prices in the Budget but this is the sting in the tail,’ said a SIMI chief executive. However, there is a sting in the tail - men in Southampton are paid £2.57 an hour more compared to women, even though the Equal Pay Act came into force 35 years ago. If the benchmarking body does not deliver parity of pay, then we will deliver the sting in the tail. Origin Old English sting (noun), stingan (verb), of Germanic origin. noun.1 phr.
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