Lexic.us

Definition of Stiff

1. Noun. An ordinary man. "A working stiff"

2. Adjective. Not moving or operating freely. "A stiff hinge"

3. Adverb. Extremely. "Frightened stiff"

4. Noun. The dead body of a human being. "Honor comes to bless the turf that wraps their clay"

5. Adjective. Powerful. "A stiff breeze"

6. Adverb. In a stiff manner. "His hands lay stiffly"

7. Adjective. Rigidly formal. "His prose has a buckram quality"

8. Adjective. Having a strong physiological or chemical effect. "A stiff drink"

9. Adjective. Marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable. "Unwavering loyalty"

10. Adjective. Incapable of or resistant to bending. "A stiff neck"

11. Adjective. Very drunk.

Definition of Stiff

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

Definition of Stiff

1. Adjective. Of an object, rigid, hard to bend, inflexible. ¹

2. Adjective. (context: figuratively) Of policies and rules and their application and enforcement, inflexible. ¹

3. Adjective. Of a person, formal in behavior, unrelaxed. ¹

4. Adjective. (colloquial) Harsh, severe. ¹

5. Adjective. Of muscles, or parts of the body, painful, as a result of excessive, or unaccustomed exercise. ¹

6. Adjective. potent. ¹

7. Adjective. dead, deceased. ¹

8. Adjective. Of a penis, erect. ¹

9. Noun. An average person, usually male, of no particular distinction, skill, or education, often a ''working '''stiff''''' or ''lucky '''stiff'''''. ¹

10. Noun. A person who is deceived, as a mark or pigeon in a swindle. ¹

11. Noun. (slang) A cadaver, a dead person. ¹

12. Noun. (American English) A person who leaves (especially a restaurant) without paying the bill. ¹

13. Verb. To fail to pay that which one owes (implicitly or explicitly) to another, especially by departing hastily. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Stiff

1. difficult to bend or stretch [adj STIFFER, STIFFEST] / to cheat someone by not paying [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Stiff

stictional stictions stiddie stiddied stiddies stiddiest stiddy stie stied sties

stieve stievely stiever stievest stifado stiff-arm stiff-backed stiff-hearted stiff-necked stiff-tailed duck

stiff-tailed ducks stiff aster stiff gentian stiff person syndrome stiff upper lip stiffed stiffen stiffened stiffener

Literary usage of Stiff

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Monographic Medicine by William Robie Patten Emerson, Guido Guerrini, William Brown, Wendell Christopher Phillips, John Whitridge Williams, John Appleton Swett, Hans Günther, Mario Mariotti, Hugh Grant Rowell (1916)
"(c) stiff Neck and Wry Neck An abnormal position of the head and neck may give the ... A stiff neck may or may not be painful. If movements of the neck are ..."

2. An American Glossary by Richard Hopwood Thornton (1912)
"Keep a stiff upper lip. To put on a resolute look. 1815 I kept a stiff ... 1839 Keep a stiff upper lip, and I will use my influence with the Secretary. ..."

3. The Popular Science Monthly by Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress) (1890)
"much more lightly and hence much more cheaply than if stiff rails were used. On curves, sidings, and sections for loading and unloading, however, ..."

4. The Works of A. Conan Doyle by Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)
"OF THE stiff-LEGGED PARSON XIV OF THE stiff-LEGGED PARSON AND HIS FLOCK OUR road lay through Castle Carey and Somerton, which are small towns lying in the ..."

5. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register by Henry Fritz-Gilbert Waters (1894)
"William Turner, June 24, 1678, occurs: Elias stiff 02. 04. 06. The name of stiff is a very rare one both in England and Americn, and I was not previously ..."

6. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register by Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters (1894)
"The name of stiff is a very rare one both in England and America, and I wa« not previously aware of its occurrence in Massachusetts, though cognizant of the ..."

7. Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine (1888)
"Not even stiff, by Jove ! " he exclaimed, joyfully ; " well, good luck to Billy Barley ! for, if I am not mistaken, this clinches my matter. ..."

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