Dictionary
stiff
Pronunciation: (stif), [key]
—adj., -er, -est,
—n., adv., v.
—
adj.
1. rigid or firm; difficult or impossible to bend or flex:
a stiff collar.
2. not moving or working easily:
The motor was a little stiff from the cold weather.
3. (of a person or animal) not supple; moving with difficulty, as from cold, age, exhaustion, or injury.
4. strong; forceful; powerful:
stiff winds; The fighter threw a stiff right to his opponent's jaw.
5. strong or potent to the taste or system, as a beverage or medicine:
He was cold and wanted a good stiff drink.
6. resolute; firm in purpose; unyielding; stubborn.
7. stubbornly continued:
a stiff battle.
8. firm against any tendency to decrease, as stock-market prices.
9. rigidly formal; cold and unfriendly, as people, manners, or proceedings.
10. lacking ease and grace; awkward:
a stiff style of writing.
11. excessively regular or formal, as a design; not graceful in form or arrangement.
12. laborious or difficult, as a task.
13. severe or harsh, as a penalty or demand.
14. excessive; unusually high or great:
$50 is pretty stiff to pay for that.
15. firm from tension; taut:
to keep a stiff rein.
16. relatively firm in consistency, as semisolid matter; thick:
a stiff jelly; a stiff batter.
17. dense or compact; not friable:
stiff soil.
18. Naut.(of a vessel) having a high resistance to rolling; stable (opposed to
crank).
19. Scot. and North Eng.sturdy, stout, or strongly built.
20. Australian Slang.out of luck; unfortunate.
—
n.
1. Slang.
a. a dead body; corpse.
b. a formal or priggish person.
c. a poor tipper; tightwad.
d. a drunk.
2. Slang.
a. a fellow:
lucky stiff; poor stiff.
b. a tramp; hobo.
c. a laborer.
3. Slang.
a. a forged check.
b. a promissory note or bill of exchange.
c. a letter or note, esp. if secret or smuggled.
4. Slang.a contestant, esp. a racehorse, sure to lose.
—
adv.
1. in or to a firm or rigid state:
The wet shirt was frozen stiff.
2. completely, intensely, or extremely:
I'm bored stiff by these lectures. We're scared stiff.
—
v.t.
1. Slang.to fail or refuse to tip (a waiter, porter, etc.).
2. Slang.to cheat; gyp; do out of:
The company stiffed me out of a week's pay. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
