stick

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

v. t. stab, puncture, prick; put, place, thrust; glue; transfix, impale; informal, puzzle, stump. See opening, coherence, difficulty. — v. i. adhere, cling; stay, remain, tarry; stall, freeze, be immobile. See coherence, stability. — n. piece, branch; cane, staff, cudgel, rod, baton; (pl.) informal, suburbs, country. See support, region.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. shoot, twig, branch, stem, stalk, rod, wand, staff, stave, walking stick, cane, matchstick, club, baton, drumstick, timber, cudgel, ferrule, pole, bludgeon, bat, birch, rule, ruler, stock, joist, shillelagh, truncheon, cue, billet, spar, mast; see also rod 1 .

• the sticks*,

Syn. rural area, country, the back country, outlying districts, the boondocks*; see also country 1 .

v.

1. [To remain fastened]

Syn. adhere, cling, fasten, attach, cleave, unite, cohere, hold, stick together, hug, clasp, hold fast, stick like wax, stick like glue*, cling like a bur, cling like ivy, stick like a leech.

Ant. loosen*, let go, fall, come away.

2. [To penetrate with a point]

Syn. prick, impale, pierce; see penetrate 1 , stab .

• on the stick*,

Syn. busy, alert, on the ball, moving, on the move.

Syn.- stick is the simple, general term here, implying attachment by gluing or fastening together, by close association, etc. [ to stick a stamp on a letter, to stick to a subject ] ; adhere to implies firm attachment and, of persons, denotes voluntary allegiance or devotion as to an idea, cause, or leader [ to adhere to a policy ] ; cohere implies such close sticking together of parts as to form a single mass [ glue made the particles of sawdust cohere] ; cling implies attachment by embracing, entwining, or grasping with the arms, tendrils, etc. [ a vine clinging to the trellis ] ; cleave implies a very close, firm attachment [ my tongue cleaved to the roof of my mouth, Ruth cleaved to Naomi ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

branch, twig, limb, stalk, bough, switch, cane, rod, pole staff, stake, stave, bat, club, billy club, truncheon, nightstick, cudgel, shillelagh, baton, wand.

II

v.

1. adhere cling, hold, grip, hang on to, stay, cleave, bond, bind, fix, attach, fasten, paste, glue, tape, pin.

2. prick stab, poke, jab, puncture, pierce, impale, penetrate, spear.

3. put place, lay, set, position, deposit, drop.

4. endure persevere, persist, hold out, *keep on plugging, *stick to one's guns.

ANT.: 4. give up, quit

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A fairly long straight piece of solid material used especially as a support in walking: cane, staff, stave, walking stick. See MACHINE. 2. A relatively long, straight, rigid piece of metal or other solid material: bar, bloom2, rod, shaft, slab. See THING. II verb 1. To cause to penetrate with force: dig, drive, plunge, ram, run, sink, stab, thrust. See PUT IN. 2. To become or cause to become stuck or lodged: catch, fix, lodge. See MOVE. 3. To hold fast: adhere, bond, cleave2, cling, cohere. See CONNECT. 4. To deposit in a specified place: lay1, place, put, set1. See PLACE, RISE. 5. Informal. To make incapable of finding something to think, do, or say: confound, nonplus. Informal: flummox, stump, throw. Slang: beat. Idiom: put someone at a loss. See AFFECT, KNOWLEDGE. 6. Informal. To force (another) to accept a burden: foist, impose, inflict, saddle. See GIVE, OVER, WILLING. 7. Slang. To get money or something else from by deceitful trickery: bilk, cheat, cozen, defraud, gull, mulct, rook, swindle, victimize. Informal: chisel, flimflam, take, trim. Slang: diddle1, do, gyp, sting. See HONEST.